This film should come with a warning: make sure to wear waterproof mascara!

Seriously though – no surprise at all that it was put forward for nomination for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. With Benicio Del Toro on board as executive producer, the film was written by Irish Screenwriter, Mark O’Halloran, who also plays a cameo role. Directed by Paddy Breathnach, produced by Robert Walpole, Cathleen Dore and Rebecca Flanagan, [Treasure Films] and anchored by a superb cast of actors, collectively they have created a sublime and authentic Cuban film.

Set in Havana, Viva tells the tale of Jesus, played by Héctor Medina, a hairdresser and sometimes hustler who dreams of becoming a drag queen performer – and you literally cannot take your eyes off this incredible actor! When Mama, the queen, owner and headline act of his underground drag club – Luis Alberto Garcia, superbly cast in the role of mentor to Jesus – gives him a chance to…