Press Detail

Havana Motor Club

Synopsis (Short)

Change is racing down the streets of Havana, where Cuba's top underground drag racers struggle to prepare their classic hot rods for the first official car race since the Revolution.

Synopsis (Long)

HAVANA MOTOR CLUB explores Havana's vibrant community of underground drag racers and their quest to hold Cuba's first official car race since shortly after the 1959 Revolution. It tackles how Cuba’s recent reforms have affected the lives of these racers and their families. One racer enlists the help of a Cuban American patron in Miami to bring in parts for his modern Porsche. His main competitor is a renowned mechanic who uses ingenuity rather than resources to create a racing machine out of his ‘55 Chevy. Another racer ponders whether he will participate in the race or sell his motor — one that he recovered on the ocean floor from a ship used to smuggle Cubans off the island — in order to flee Cuba on a raft headed to Florida. Through the experiences of these racers, HAVANA MOTOR CLUB explores how Cuba is changing today, and also what its future holds in light of Obama's recent move to normalize relations with the island nation.