Vivien Lesnik Weisman M.F.A. ’06

By Chris Gee

For filmmaker Vivien Lesnik Weisman M.F.A. ’06, watching her father endure bombings, death threats and drive-by shootings was just a part of growing up. Her father, Max Lesnik frequently found himself surrounded by controversy – from his days spent with university pal Fidel Castro to founding the magazine Replica years later in Miami.

“I basically grew up in a warzone,” Vivien says. “I was under the car when bombs went off. But at the same time, I did all the normal activities like birthday parties. Being young, I thought everybody lived like that.”

In her documentary The Man of Two Havanas, Vivien explores her father’s long friendship with Castro, including his support for and later disillusionment with the Cuban Revolution, his exile to Miami and his life as a controversial publisher of the first and only national Spanish-language magazine of its day. The documentary premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival to sold-out shows and standing ovations.

The documentary explores Lesnik’s life—from Havana to Miami and eventually back. Lesnik worked closely with Castro and rose to a prominent position in the Cuban Revolution. But Castro aligned Cuban with the Soviet Union, a disappointed Lesnik resigned his post in a dramatic radio broadcast and went underground, eventually resurfacing in Miami.

Once in Miami, Lesnik took the uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous position opposing both Castro and the Batista-leaning powerbrokers in Miami’s Cuban refugee population, opting instead for a third position that, he believed, was one of true Cuban patriotism. Lesnik began publishing Replica out of his garage to share his own views and to foster debate on a wide range of issues important to the Spanish-speaking population in the U.S. Replica grew to national prominence, and the magazine’s offices were bombed 11 times.

The years have neither dulled Lesnik’s strident views, nor silenced his voice. Now the director of Radio Miami, he revived his friendship with Castro several years ago and helped pave the way for Pope John Paul II’s historic visit to Cuba.

For her documentary, a politically ambivalent Vivien imbeds herself in the controversies that swirl around her father, adding a unique daughter’s point of view. The film, which includes top-secret audiotapes revealing facets of the dynamic history of Cuban-American relations, focuses on her relationship with her father and with the Cuba she left behind, and her exploration of the hidden corners of her own personality as well as his.

Vivien was born in Havana, Cuba and raised in Little Havana, Miami. It was during her tumultuous childhood that she first developed her interest in film. “We used to stay up to watch the 11 o’clock movie of the night,” she says. “It was usually some cheesy 1930s musical, but the movies were always uplifting and at the same time, I was with my dad.”

She further cultivated her love for film while at Barnard College in New York. After taking a film history class and watching various French New Wave films in revival houses, she began to dream of a career in film. But then she got cold feet.

“I lost my nerve and went to law school!” she says. “I really loved the study of law, but I had some moral issues with it.”

When she finally decided to pursue what she really wanted to do, Vivien enrolled in the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. As a Bruin, she found her own voice as a director.

“UCLA turns you into a true auteur and teaches you to express what you have to say in your heart,” she says. “With any luck, you’ll be talented enough and have something to say.”

Shortly after graduating, she completed The Man of Two Havanas, her first documentary. The film continues to sellout shows wherever it is featured, but Vivien eagerly dreams of what comes next.

“I’m going to stick with nonfiction, but I’ve got a plethora of ideas and lots of future projects to tackle,” she says.