THE BRIEF
The Challenge
A 75-year-old Cuban poet has never traveled more than a hundred miles from home — but through his verse, he's been to Rome, Istanbul, Beijing, and probably your hometown. El Turista Imaginario is a feature documentary about Luis Martínez, a local legend, mentor, and community elder whose imagination knows no borders.
- Filming in Cuba with unreliable infrastructure- equipment and supplies had to be brought in from outside the country
- Complex, slow-moving permit process with limited institutional support
- Entire production conducted in Spanish, requiring real-time navigation of a language barrier on set and in interviews
- Translating Luis's poetry for an English-speaking audience without losing the rhythm, nuance, and beauty of his original verse
Our Approach
- Multiple extended shoots in Trinidad, embedding within the community and building trust over time
- Hired local Cuban crew as creative collaborators, not just production support
- Observational filmmaking; the camera moves at Luis's pace
- Luis's poetry woven into the film as narrative structure and emotional architecture, not just supplementary material
- AI translation tools integrated into post-production to accurately subtitle poetry and interviews while preserving tone and cadence
The Result
Some stories matter beyond what they can do for a brand or a bottom line. El Turista Imaginario is a film about the power of imagination as an act of freedom and the kind of storytelling that reminds us why we got into this work in the first place.