• Submitted by: manso
• Arts and Culture
• 06 / 29 / 2011

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Enthusiasm was high among the adult survivors of the so-called Operation Pedro Pan who came out for Estela Bravo's new documentary: OPERATION PETER PAN, Flying Back to Cuba Saturday night at the Los Angeles Film Festival. It was the film's second presentation at second screening at this festival with an even larger attendance than the first.

The hundreds present responded with warmth and applause, giving the Pedro Pan members whose experiences were documented, and who came out for the screening, a standing ovation. Hugs were exchanged as additional Pedro Pans came out from the audience to join those from the film for a question and answer session. One of the Pedro Pans, singer Candi Sosa, sang acapella for those present. In the film she was shown singing both as an adult and as a child at the time the events unfolded.

Later on the group joined together to sing songs from their childhood. Each of the participants, in the film and afterwards in the theater, recounted some of their experiences, which ranged from good to dreadful, but which has marked their lives indelibly. The musical score underscored the powerful emotional experiences which these small children, today senior citizens, went through.

A few right-wingers in the audience applauded at the archival footage of the children being loaded on a plane for Miami, but they said nothing during the Q&A period afterwards. The strong and balanced depiction of the experience,including on-screen responses to questions from Monseignor Bryan Walsh, the Catholic priest most prominent in organizing the operation, left no room for argument as to the facts of what had happened.

Let's hope that, as US policy toward Cuba continues to draw periodic public attention, that this film can get a broad public distribution, perhaps on PBS or other public television outlets. It's an experience truly not to be missed.

Walter Lippmann

Source: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/message/124636