Racing through the streets of old Havana. Dogs, horses and people move out of the way. We're on a mission: rumour has it there is a ten-meter Jimmy Jib complete with hot head on the island. It sounds too good to be true.

"You never know if it's real until you see it," says Tony Robertson, a Toronto location manager turned Cuban production advisor. And he is right; although there are a million reasons to shoot in Cuba, the industry is young and the "whatever it takes" attitude hasn't taken hold. Outsiders like Robertson thrive in the production world on the island. "I know what [outside productions] want and I run it like a [North American] shoot," he says.

Despite a litany of problems, language is the biggest practical obstacle facing foreigners shooting in Cuba. But with knowledgeable bilingual people like Robertson and rock-bottom prices, the obstacles are melting away and production is increasing yearly. Although traditionally a home to European productions, Americans and Canadians are now coming to this Marxist dictatorship to shoot commercials, music videos and features.

Havana can easily pass for New Orleans or double for many parts of Europe, and the rest of Cuba is replete with stunning beaches, mountains and plantations, Cuba being home to centuries-old Spanish, African and Chinese communities.

On top of this, Cubans are generally educated and law abiding. "Nobody has their hand out behind their back," says Robertson who has worked in many third world countries.

Cuba, the socialist cinematic paradise?

Well, not quite. The island does have unique problems. "Within themselves, the crews were great, but there are things you can't take for granted," said Thoromar Jonsson, a director with On Productions, an Icelandic company with offices in Havana. Jonsson recently shot a MasterCard commercial and an EMI music video on the island. "We had to have batteries for a DAT machine flown in at one point - you learn the hard way in Cuba."

On Productions partnered with Island films, one of three film companies in Cuba, during the shoot. "They took care of the bureaucratic stuff," Jonsson said. "Even still, the army was not going to let us leave the country with the film - after a three-hour argument in broken Spanish, we ended up leaving with it." Despite this, "Now that I know who to turn to I would absolutely shoot in Cuba again."

There are other problems with Cuba. Specifically an old American throwback called the "Trading with the Enemy Act." Basically, the act says Americans can't do business with Cuba and foreigners who do can be barred from doing business in the United States. However, this hasn't deterred Europeans, Canadians and even some Americans. As anyone drinking a Coke in Havana can tell you, the forty-year-old embargo has more holes in it than a reel of 35mm film.

For anyone wanting to do business on the island, the strategy is to simply play a shell game - companies set up fronts to deal with Cuba exclusively. If you are caught then you face the consequences. However, with an immigration department that doesn't stamp passports, it seems likely these consequences often dwell in the realm of the hypothetical.

The Cuban government understands the game and helps out anyway it can. There has been no fallout from the arrangement and subsequently, all kinds of equipment is now available in Cuba.

While the hard-currency-strapped Cuban government is co-operating, they can be sticky in some respects. "We had to rewrite the script days before the shoot was to begin," said Jonsson. "They didn't like the way we were going to depict local cab drivers," he explained, noting that all scripts need to be approved by the government. "That was the hook of the whole commercial. We ended up doing what the agency had been previously working on."

PRICE POINTS:

Good Hotel Nightly: $80 US (Riviera) to $150 US (Habana Libre)
An excellent meal with drinks for two
at the Hotel Sevilla's Rooftop Restaurant: $60 US
A nice 2-bedroom apartment with
everything in downtown Havana for a month: $750 US
Taxi in Havana: $3-4 US for a ten-minute ride
Crews: In general about 1/3 to 1/2 the cost in US
Art Director: $80 US daily
1st AD: $85 US daily
Actors/Stunt People: $150 US daily
Swimsuit Model: $20 US daily (caliente!)
Equipment: About the same as in the US but negotiable
35 Arri III Camera Package: $316 US plus per day
A Great Bottle of Rum: $7-8 US
Cigars: note all street cigars are counterfeit.
Box of Cohiba Splendidos: $300 US
Car Rental:
Audi TT: $250 per day
Average Car: $40-60 per day
10-passenger van with driver: $100 per day

Webfiles:
On Productions> http://www.on.is
Island Film Cuba> http://www.islandfilmcuba.com
RTV Cuba> http://www.rtvcubafilm.com
CubaCine> http://www.cubacine.cu