Steffen Köhn

STEFFEN KOHN, Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany, was awarded a Fejos Fellowship in October 2019 to aid editing and filmiking on “After Access: Emergent Digital Culture and its Social Impacts in Post-Castro Cuba.” The ethnographic documentary Dinamita explores the rise of Cuba’s first generation of social media influencers. It follows Dina (DinaStars) and Adriano (ComePizza) who are part of a dynamic community of video bloggers harnessing the growing access to the internet on the island to tell their stories on their terms. The film captures their journey from burgeoning YouTubers to nationally acclaimed figures. Through a blend of observational footage and the protagonists’ self-posted videos, Dinamita chronicles their ascent within Cuba’s nascent digital public sphere. The film adopts a performative approach, eschewing traditional interviews for spontaneous dialogue, and choosing a visual style of long sequence shots to reflect the fluidity of their world in pre-mobile internet Havana. The narrative took an unexpected turn with the 2021 protests in Cuba. As Dina and Adriano became part of these historical events, so did the documentary. Dinamita not only showcases the personal growth of its protagonists but also casts a light on the broader socio-political shifts in Cuba. The completed documentary has been presented at notable venues such as Hof International Film Festival, the Malaga Film Festival, the Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival, and Bertha Doc House in London. Additionally, the film will serve as a companion piece to the forthcoming book, “Island in the Net – Emergent Digital Culture and its Social Consequences in Post-Castro Cuba”.