PAPA: Hemingway in Cuba was recently screened as part of the NY Film Critics Series. The film is based on the relationship between Miami journalist, Denne Bart Petitclerc and the legendary Ernest Hemingway. The screenplay is written by Denne who changed his name to Ed Myers in the film.
While growing up, Ed Meyers (Giovanni Ribis) had a special connection to his idol, Ernest Hemingway’s (Adrian Sparks) writing. After writing a fan letter to his idol, Ed received a phone call from Hemingway inviting him to Cuba to go fishing. This fishing trip was the beginning of many trips back to Cuba as a special bond developed between Ed and Hemingway. As he gets closer to Hemingway and his wife Mary, Ed learns more about his life, relationships, and the demons he faces during his moments of writer’s block.
The film not only depicts the relationship between the two, but also life in Cuba in 1959 during the Cuban Revolution.
Following the film, Peter Travers sat down with Director Bob Yari and actor Adrian Sparks to discuss the film. The discussion even included an on screen cameo from Giovanni Ribisi, who joined in on the conversation.
Bob Yari discussed how he had read the script 10 years ago and had been very interested in bringing the script to life. This is the first Hollywood movie to be filmed on location in Cuba since the 1959 Cuban Revolution. He explained how Cuba itself was a character in the film, giving viewers an inside look into Hemingway’s life before he moved out of Cuba.
Bob Yari also discussed how Ernest Hemingway left Cuba as the doors were closing and now the doors are opening back up again as the film has brought Hemingway back to the country.
The movie was filmed in Hemingway’s estate, Finca Vigia. The home has now been turned into a museum and looks exactly as it had the day he left it. The museum is run by a group of women who are very protective over the home and his belongings.
As filming began and the cast and crew gained the trust of the women in charge, they were given the opportunity to use Hemingway’s real typewriter. This was not only exciting for Adrian and Giovanni, who got to film with the typewriter, but they also felt as if they had touched a piece of Hemingway’s life.
There was even a special cameo in the film by Hemingway’s granddaughter, Mariel Hemingway while filming one of the scenes in Finca Vigia.
PAPA: Hemingway in Cuba gives you an inside view to a period of Ernest Hemingway’s life in Cuba.
Leave a Reply