Llamadas desde Moscú (Calls from Moscow). 2023. Cuba/Germany/Norway. Directed by Luís Alejandro Yero. North American premiere. In Spanish; English subtitles. 67 min.
Luis Alejandro Yero’s striking first feature focuses on a group of migrants and their temporary dwelling in a snowy Moscow high-rise complex. The Russian capital was a pathway for four young Cubans seeking to emigrate from the island, until Russia’s invasion of Ukraine put their fate in limbo. Spare and intensely felt, the film records their connections to the outside world—phone calls with loved ones, immigration service lines, even remote work—that punctuate the silence and bring small comforts. Far away from the city streets where a bleak war campaign is taking hold, Calls from Moscow quietly contemplates an internal world of waiting.