It was first presented to a full house during the 2008 Miami International Film Festival, now the contemporary Cuban film Personal Belongings premiered to the general public on Saturday, Sept. 13,at Miami Dade College’s Tower Theater, coordinated by Cuban-born filmmaker Orlando Rojas. The film continued playing through Sunday, Sept. 21.

Independently produced by Alejandro Brugués, the film’s young writer, director and producer, Personal Belongings was a homegrown effort, with many of the scenes shot at relatives’ homes. The plot centers on a young man desperate to leave Cuba, but not so much that he’s willing to board a raft. Instead, he visits various foreign embassies, using fictitious stories to persuade officials to grant him a visa. In the meantime, he falls in love with a medical student who watched her entire family flee on a makeshift boat. She refuses to leave.

When asked if Personal Belongings was based on his experience, Brugués said the story is not one persons’ account but rather inspired by his generation back home. Cleverly tucked behind the love story is a glimpse at the broken families, the sense of hopelessness and day-to-day struggle to survive that has slowly chipped away at the dreams of those on the island during the last half century.

Last July, the film had its commercial premiere in theatres in Havana.