From Ghost Town to Havana.

Since the beginning of September my time has been completely eaten up and left me with little time for sleep, and even less time for laundry.  Good thing I own about 30 pairs of underwear.  Aside from working 30 hours at BN cafe, I am now the producer’s assistant for a documentary dubbed, From Ghost Town to Havana.  You will probably hear me talk about this doc for the next 6 – 12 months.

From Ghost Town to Havana examines the role of coaches and mentors in the lives of young boys, 9-13, living in poor neighborhoods in Havana, Cuba and West Oakland, California.  It explores the contrast between growing up in the two different environments.  The boys in Ghost Town of West Oakland live in what some consider the toughest and most violent US neighborhood.  Some of these boys family members or friends have been murdered in front of their eyes, while others have drug dealing parents.  Most of the boys have no father figure, but are lucky enough to have loving, supporting, and hard nosed mothers to push them.  The Ghost Town boys are tempted with the glitz and glam of making fast money as a drug dealer or gang life.  In their situation its impossible to resist.

In Havana, Cuba, boys of the same age receive free health care, free eduation, and a huge amount of love and support from families and the community.  Cuba invests a lot towards their youth.  Cuba has excellent educational programs, which are producing excellent minds in engineering and medical minds.  However, the harsh reality is that with the free education in Cuba also comes the lack of opportunity as an adult with a career.  They boys in Ghost Town have a multitude of opportunities available to them, but are not receiving assistance to attain the education or means necessary to escape from Ghost Town.

This documentary follows a set of boys who are attempting to reach goals greater than their environments may allow.  It is a powerful, controversial, and inspiring film.  There is a demo at www.playtwopictures.com, which can give you a greater sense of the goal of the film.  Eugene Corr, the filmmaker, hopes to take the Ghost Town boys to Cuba to play against the boys there in a friendly exhibition match.

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