Abecé

Leoneidi is only 12 years old and already a mother. She spent pretty much her entire pregnancy in hospital, she says with a deadpan expression, with no support from her parents. Now she lives with the father of the child, who constantly gives her orders about the housekeeping.

Her life is divided between parental responsibilities and childlike playfulness: one moment she is washing her baby, the next she is tying toy cars to a puppy to see if they make a train.

Director Diana Montero spent 40 days in the southern Cuban mountain range Sierra Maestra in search of a subject. In the end, she shot the documentary—a second-year project at the Cuban film academy EICTV—in just one week. Montero, who interviews Leoneidi herself, is only heard asking questions. Her tone is neutral enough to elicit a frank response, but her questions betray a burning interest in a life completely at odds with her own. Diana Montero had been working on her debute feature when she passed away in 2020 at age 34.