Elda’s Terrace

Feature-length documentary. Written by Birgit Eckelt. Directed by Henry Hauck . Produced by Werner Vennewald, Emmanuel Laurent. A coproduction Monaco Film, Films À Trois .

Elda's Terrace is a testimony of the change occurring in Cubans' daily life, from the end of the 80's to this day. We will observe this evolution through the story of Elda, a Cuban cook with a love for music, who fights in a surprising way for freedom an a better lifestyle. The movie takes us through different periods: Cuba's economic crisis, the growing hope with the country's opening in the mid 90's, and the anxiety of Cubans towards a post-Castro future, filled with uncertainty because of the lack of alternative solutions to replace a system that threats to collapse with the death of his leader. The scenes of this movie have mainly been shot in Cuba between 1995 and 2007; the crew traveled to the island 20 times to collect about 70 hours of raw footage. The action principally takes place in Elda's house in La Havana.
Exiled in Spain since 2006, Elda is waiting for a change of regime to go back to her country. This journey back home will be the last part of a documentary meant to get Cuba depicted from the inside, by its own people.