The Tribeca Film Festival is making headlines in New York City and one of the films that is premiering there is "Havana Motor Club."

The documentary tells a personal, character-driven story about Cuba's vibrant community of underground drag racers and their quest to hold Cuba's first official car race since the 1959 Revolution. The documentary is among the films at Tribeca that bring Latin culture to the forefront and received raves after its world premiere.

Latin Post had the chance to speak with director Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt, who has made several documentaries and has screened them around the world. The director spoke about his struggles in making the film and the fascinating experience of working in Cuba.

Latin Post: How did you first come across the subject of drag racing in Cuba?

Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt: We were invited to an event for the "Amigos de Fangio" car club that was celebrating the kidnapping of an Argentine Formula One racing legend, Manuel Fangio. While we were there, they announced that Cuba would be holding its first official car race since shortly after the Revolution in six weeks! We then began filming with Cuba's top underground drag racers as they prepared for this historic event.

LP: What were the challenges of the production? Was there a language barrier or do you speak fluent Spanish?

BP: I had lived in Argentina and spoke Spanish proficiently, but Cuban Spanish is from another planet and it took me a long time to understand it, particularly among the mechanics who had their own slang. I was fortunate to have a Latino crew from all over Latin America (mostly Cuban). Another challenge was securing permits in a timely fashion. And then, of course, it was very difficult to secure any electronic/film equipment.

LP: How did you find your subjects for the film?

BP: A head of one of the clubs took us around to all the drag racers he knew who raced V8 American cars from the '50s. We got to know about 10 of them and then decided to focus on five for our film.

LP: What are some of the fondest memories of making this movie?

BP: Feeling at home in Cuba. Filming in fast-moving cars. Getting to know our characters. Capturing the ending of our film. We also had eight babies born amongst our crew during the production of this film.

LP: You have worked on documentary projects. What was different about this experience?

BP: This was by far the most difficult documentary I had ever done because it took over a year to capture the ending, and I had never directed an ensemble film with so many characters.

LP: Your movies have premiered at Telluride and Venice and now Tribeca. Can you tell me what excites you about a premiere at Tribeca?

BP: NYC is my hometown and where most of my crew lives. I'm most excited about premiering in a place that I can invite all my crew, friends and family to. It's also one of my favorite festivals in the world, and I'm honored to be premiering here.

LP: What would you like audiences to take away from this film?

BP: The Cuban spirit is strong, and even in the midst of all these new changes, Cubans will never let go of their proud heritage. Cuba has never been "stuck in time." It's constantly evolving.

LP: Your feature work has concentrated on documentary. Does fiction narrative interest you?

BP: Yes. I went to a fiction/narrative-based film school (Columbia University) where I discovered that a good story is a good story, and there's a blurry line between fiction and documentary. I've developed many scripts that I'd love to direct one day.

LP: What's your next project?

BP: Spend more time with my 9-month-old! And then I hope to do a narrative film based on a script that I wrote in Cuba.