Mafifa

In this poetic documentary, filmmaker Daniela Muñoz Barroso sets out to discover the identity of the renowned Cuban musician Gladys Esther Linaresa, known as Mafifa, a bell player with La Conga de Los Hoyos in Santiago de Cuba. Barroso, who has progressive bilateral hearing loss, makes a journey of self-discovery as she searches for the enigmatic Mafifa. Through interviews with those who knew Mafifa, expressive hand-held camera work, and creative sound design that aligns us with Barroso’s aural experience, the film creates a lyrical evocation of a musical life.

Interviews are often conducted in extreme close-up via handheld camera, achieving a rare directness and intimacy as the engaging Muñoz Barroso befriends her helpful interlocutors. There is real energy and dynamism here. […] The real wonder of the film, however, is the sound-design accomplished by Glenda L Martinez Cabrera and her team. As she notes early on in her extensive voice-over, Munoz Barroso experiences “progressive bilateral hearing loss”; Martinez Cabrera muffles and masks some sounds to convey the sensory perspective of a filmmaker whose work revolves around aural stimulations.

Film Critic Neil Young