I got the trailer for The Crisis up on metacafe.com. Looks to be a pretty good site for viewing all those neat pop culture type trailers and videos that everyone seems to like these days. Take a look.

The short is about a man who finds a baby on his doorstep and runs into a bit of trouble with his wife because of it. Kind of artsy. Let me know what you think.

Poster for The Crisis Short Film

The United States, unlike most every other part of the world, has enjoyed a copious amount of peace in our time. Since the Monroe doctrine in 1823, the United States has kept the rest of the world at arms length through sheer diplomacy and firepower, and unlike many of our peer countries, looking to find diplomatic enemies amongst our neighbors is difficult. We do not have rogue nation neighbors such as Iran or North Korea just off our borders. Countries such as Columbia and Nicaragua, while offering their own unique political challenges, just have not posed the implied threat to the American way of life that Cuba has over the years. This is a country, not 90 miles off our southern most boarder, that harbors a communist agenda, still maintains a network of spies within our country, sided with the cold war Soviets, froze American assets in Cuba in the 1950’s and 60’s, has caused numerous atrocities against its own citizens, and has stationed nuclear missiles within its borders aimed squarely at our nations capital. It is because of this shared history, forged in an atmosphere of mistrust, that the embargo remains a part of our public conscience.

In the last few years a lot has changed in the world. The Soviets have found democracy and their aging military engine has, like the arms race itself, come to a grinding halt. Communism itself has become more of a red herring than a red scare, with communist based regimes such as China and Korea becoming increasingly commercialized and integral to the world economy. The Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba has been slated to be returned to Cuba in January of 2010 according to President Obama and politicians are considering doing away with many of the policies that President Clinton put into practice back in 1992 such as limited travel restrictions to the country as well as the sending of monetary aid to families. Still the embargo is a stalwart reminder that public relations between our two countries still remains difficult; limiting United States trade with Cuban allied nations such as Russia as well as limiting the influx of goods and services into and out of Cuba itself. The country is, in effect, living in a bubble, where their culture and heritage have become separated, wholly or in part, from the rest of the world.

While making The Crisis, I was attempting to convey the idea of a Cuba trapped in political isolation, amidst which they have struggled to define themselves as a culture. In a country such as theirs, in which many of their citizens lives are dictated by a military regime in Fidel and Raul Castro, the idea that a mass introduction of a product such as cell phones, computers, or even something as seemingly innocent as Levis has so much potential to change their culture and attitudes that it could easily be interpreted as an act of aggression against their state. It is difficult to predict the outcomes of an act such as this, since being one of the poorest nations in the world, Cuba can barely afford these things for themselves. Introducing them would be an act of charity at best. An act of vandalism at worst. And it is under these uncertain conditions that we dare to dictate policy in a Cuba that still clings to a philosophy that remains mostly in the cold war.

Given time, many of the roadblocks to diplomatic relations will avail themselves. Still, the future is a bumpy road, with change coming too slowly for many, especially those who have come from Cuba or have family there. Attitudes in Cuba that have not budged since the 1950’s and that have limited discourse between our two countries still need to change as do the attitudes of the foreign officials that govern their policies. This is not just any island in the Caribbean, this is Cuba, and there is too much history there to be ignored.

The short film entitled “The Crisis” is about a marketing agency planning a product drop into the small island nation of Cuba in the last thirteen hours before the Cuban Trade Embargo is officially removed by the president of the United States.