After 40 years, Silvia Morini returns to Havana, to the palatial house of her youth, where her nostalgia for a pre-Castro Cuba confronts modern-day Cuban realities. Filmmakers Stephen Olsson and Carolyn Zaff weave Silvia's tapestry of rose-colored memories, history, culture, and tragi-comic encounters into a powerful portrait of a member of the privileged class, sharply contrasted here with vivid recollections of pre-Castro Cuba from several working-class Cubans. As Silvia discovers a more complex and evolving Cuban society, she herself undergoes a surprising change, not entirely altering her political outlook but becoming, as she puts it, "more human."

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Press Reviews

Ralph Waldo Emerson said one man's biography is that of a culture's, and this film is substantial proof.  Substitute one woman's life for that of a man's and make the culture Cuban, and Emerson's words jump to life.  This insightful documentary about one woman who returns to Cuba after years of exile is mesmerizing.  "Our House in Havana" turns out to be a savvy inside view of the conditions of modern Cuba as well as a history lesson and an evenly told story about a subject that is a political hotbed.

The Hollywood Reporter  - Marilyn Moss

Silvia Morini is wonderfully direct, her face a spectrum of strong emotion throughout the film.  But what makes "Our House in Havana" unforgettable is that this often-blinkered woman is merely stuck in the past, not permanently imprisoned by it.  She is permeable to experience: to the easy warmth and dignity of the people she encounters, and especially to the intensity of Cuban culture.  She experiences a deeply shared sense of Cuban-ness that is beyond politics, "Our House in Havana" is a subtle, moving and surprisingly artful account of Silvia Morini's changing perceptions.  This is a satisfying and thought-provoking film.

The Boston Globe - John Koch

Producer/Director Stephen Olsson manages to produce a remarkably complete sketch of life in Cuba today.  "Our House" manages to touch on one of the central features of modern Cuban society, the generation gap.  But the real subject of the film is Morini's personal transformation. By the time she returns to the United States, her view of U.S.-Cuban relations has radically changed. Formerly a staunch supporter of the U.S. trade embargo, she begins to lobby the White House and key senators such as Jesse Helms to end the embargo altogether--not because of any sudden love for Castro or his revolution but because she believes more contact and exchange will only be good for both societies.

The Washington Post - Eugene Robinson