22

FRIDAY

What could be more arduous than attempting to sail from Cuba to Florida in a homemade raft? Many things, including life in the promised land itself, according to Balseros, Carlos Bosch and José Doménech’s heartbreaking 2002 documentary. The film opens in 1994, when the demise of the Soviet Union led to a Cuban economic crisis and Castro announced that he would not prevent would-be refugees from setting sail in the direction of Florida. Bill Clinton diverted many of the rafters to the U.S. base at Guantánamo, but an immigration lottery eventually sent some of them to such places as Hartford, Louisville, and Albuquerque. Though some of the expats depicted in the film struggle to keep in touch with Cuba, others let family ties—and their lives—unravel. The film screens at 8 p.m. at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden’s Ring Auditorium, 7th Street and Independence Ave. SW. Free. (202) 357-2700. (Mark Jenkins)