LOS ANGELES – Step into Havana’s unique drag scene with the “emotional and effective torch song melodrama” (Los Angeles Times), VIVA, arriving on Digital HD on August 30 from Magnolia Home Entertainment. Starring Jorge Perugorría (Strawberry and Chocolate, Guantanamera), Luis Alberto García (7 días en La Habana, El Premio Flaco) and Héctor Medina (José Martí: el ojo del Canario, Boleto al paraíso), Irish director Paddy Breathnach’s “deeply affecting and beautifully acted” (People) drama illustrates a search for true identity and paints a familial love story against the backdrop of contemporary Cuba.
The “grade A-” (Entertainment Weekly) film follows Jesús (Medina), a young, gay hairdresser who dreams of becoming a drag performer at the cabaret in which he works. When a performance slot opens at the nightclub, Jesús finally takes a chance and walks into the spotlight, discovering a new sense of self-confidence and a feeling of belonging. However, Jesús’ newfound happiness is abruptly interrupted when his estranged, homophobic father (Garcia) enters the picture. “A genuine crowd-pleaser that packs an emotional wallop” (The Hollywood Reporter), VIVA takes viewers on an emotional journey as Jesús embraces the true version of himself while attempting to develop a relationship with his father.
DIGITAL HD
Street date: August 30, 2016
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Synopsis
VIVA stars Héctor Medina as Jesus, a young hairdresser working at a Havana nightclub that showcases drag performers, who dreams of being a performer himself. Encouraged by his mentor, Mama (Luis Alberto García), Jesus finally gets his chance to take the stage. But when his estranged father Angel (Jorge Perugorría) abruptly reenters his life, his world is quickly turned upside down. As father and son clash over their opposing expectations of each other, VIVA becomes a love story as the men struggle to understand one another, and reconcile as a family.
VIVA was a hit at the 2015 Telluride Film Festival, was nominated by the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association for “Foreign Language Film of the Year, and is Ireland’s entry for the Best Foreign Film Academy Award® this year.
