Tampa, Florida - As a child, 20-year-old Todd Wiseman made movies using his family's VHS camera and now the young NYU filmmaker is documenting life in Cuba. Wiseman spent a semester on the communist island and was there during the change of power from Fidel Castro to his brother Raul.
Wiseman's bed in his Tampa home is covered with mementos of the three month long trip to Cuba. There's Cuban currency, issues of the government run newspaper "Gramma" and pictures of friends he left behind.
"I didn't appreciate everything I have here until I came back," says Wiseman.
Wiseman traveled along with seven other film students from NYU. The Freedom High School graduate shot a documentary on how the Cuban people cope under the U.S. embargo.
"The name of my film is called 'Improv Island,'" says Wiseman.
Wiseman says many Cuban people oppose the blockade. One man told him it's immoral to play politics with food and medicine. Yet Wiseman found Cuban people have learned to cope, "They're such a resilient people. They repair what's broken not waste what they have."
Wiseman saw that resourcefulness in how Cubans fix 50 and 60-year-old cars. "They're American cars. We have a blockade so they can't get the parts. They're inventing parts, they're inventing things."
Wiseman found Havana's buildings needing repair too, even those set aside for tourists. Wiseman says he lived in what Cuba considered a 5 star hotel, but it had no air conditioning and had breaking elevators. Despite the poor living conditions, Wiseman says not all Cubans hate Fidel Castro or his brother, Raul, Cuba's current president.
"The people there will never overthrow the government," thinks Wiseman. He adds, "In Cuba [they have] 98% literacy rate, there's free health care everyone has a house."
Still he says what the people get for free has its price. "Their health care is not the best, their transportation is in a terrible situation," adds Wiseman. "This is still a communist society. They don't have the basic rights of freedom of speech and they can't leave the country."
Wiseman says Cubans can teach others a lesson in doing more with less.
"I'm not upset I have a car or air conditioning. But it makes you think you don't need it to live. These people are still happy in face of all their problems."
While in Cuba, Wiseman also made a music video for a popular island hip-hop group called "Doble Filo." The group is paid by the Cuban government. Wiseman says the government paid $200 to make the video.
Wiseman plans to keep in touch with many of the friends he made during his three month stay and hopes to return to Cuba. He graduates this year, his dream is to direct feature films.
Changes in Cuba:
New Cuban president Raul Castro has promised to end, "excessive prohibitions." In the last few weeks, Castro has lifted the ban on Cubans owning electrical goods such as rice cookers, microwave ovens, DVD players and computers. Cubans can now own cell phones. They can stay in hotels once saved for tourists. Critics say the only problem is Cubans don't make enough money to afford these things.
Other changes include state workers can own their homes and pass them to their children, but still can't sell them. Farmers have more say on how to use their land. There are rumors the Cuban government may lift travel restrictions.
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