A still from The Grandchildren Of The Cuban Revolution, screening Sept. 23 at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library as part of the Cuban Film Festival.

Cuba. So close yet so far away. For a glimpse into Cuba, attend the Cuban Film Festival, which includes two upcoming screenings at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library at 7p.m. Mondays, Sept. 16 and 23. (The series kicked off with the film Fresa y Chocolate (Strawberry and Chocolate) on Sept. 9.) UW-Eau Claire Spanish Professor Manuel “Manny” Fernández   and retired English and film professor Michael “Mike” Hilger will lead the before and after film discussions. Fernández’s family left Cuba for Spain in 1972 and came to the United States two years later, when he was nine years old. Hilger visited Cuba in 2012 on an Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce trip, a people-to-people educational exchange approved by both the U.S. and Cuban governments. The Sept. 16 film, Azucar Amarga (Bitter Sugar), is the story of Gustavo, an idealistic engineering student born and raised in Cuba, and provides a portrait of Cuban unrest in the 1990s, from an émigré’s point of view. On Sept. 23, the hourlong 2010 documentary Los Nietos de la Revolución Cubana (The Grandchildren of the Cuban Revolution) will be screened. The documentary, shot guerilla-style in Cuba, features the disaffected youth of the island nation and their hopes, frustrations, and concerns. Please note that the films are in Spanish with English subtitles. They contain mature themes, graphic language, and strong images, so viewer discretion is advised.