Chronicles of the Absurd

Filmmakers Miguel Coyula and Lynn Cruz in person

Dir. Miguel Coyula. 2024, 77 mins. Cuba. DCP. In Spanish with English subtitles. In Cuba, artistic legitimacy and subsistence require official recognition by a state-sponsored art institution. Working independently means having scant income and limited rights, and, as filmmaker Miguel Coyula and actor Lynn Cruz learned while making their dystopian feature Corazón azul in 2011, being subjected to various forms of control and intimidation. Meanwhile, outside of Cuba, anti-regime critics prove similarly dogmatic and silencing. A defiant and entertaining work that strains against extreme limitations, Chronicles of the Absurd playfully uses headshots and avatars to visualize audio recordings (often recorded clandestinely) and verbatim text documenting years of Kafkaesque impositions, threats, and vital dissident art. Winner, Best Film in the Envision Competition at the 2024 International Documentary Festival Amsterdam. U.S premiere.  

Tickets: $17.50 / $12 senior and students / $10 youth (ages 3–17) / free for MoMI members at the Senior/Student level and above. There is a $1.50 transaction fee per ticket for all online purchases. The cost of admission may be applied toward a same-day purchase of a membership. 

Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. 

About the filmmaker:

Miguel Coyula is a maverick filmmaker who has been working outside of the mainstream (both commercial and art-house) many times as a one-man crew since he made his first short at age 17 with an old VHS camcorder.