Lazaro and the Shark: Cuba Under the Surface

In Santiago de Cuba, rival conga bands scour the sparse marketplace for materials to create show-stopping numbers for the annual Carnival competition. O’Reilly’s film follows young, innovative Lázaro, who is determined to beat “the Shark,” his older and more establishment-favored competitor. Tensions build and tempers flare as the government restrictions and scarcity of present-day Cuba come to bear on one of the world’s poorest Carnivals.

• Release date
• November 12, 2022
• Runtime
• 76 min
• Genres
• Documentary
• Director
• William Sabourin O'Reilly