Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with The Cuban’s Ana Golja

As an artist, Ana Golja hopes to tell stories that will leave a lasting, positive impact on the world. It’s one of the many reasons why she wanted to create The Cuban, a drama that follows the unexpected friendship that forms between a naive premed student and an elderly Cuban musician who suffers from Alzheimer’s and dementia. We had the pleasure of chatting with Ana about starring in and producing the film, what she hopes audiences take away, and the important lesson she learned about herself from this experience.

Career

PC: How did you discover your passion for the arts?
Ana: I discovered my passion for the arts through film. When I was five years old, we were watching a lot of Shirley Temple films and a lot of musicals. I was really inspired by that. I would try to imitate the tap sounds that Shirley would make. That’s when my parents realized, “Maybe we should put her in the arts.” So I started off dancing when I was five and then started acting when I was nine. The first audition I had I booked, and my first day on set is when I realized that this is what I want to continue doing for the rest of my life.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Ana: I’ve had so many influences. Meryl Streep is one of my absolute icons. She’s definitely been an inspiration. But now having gone into the producing side of things, women like Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie are a huge inspiration for me because, of course, they’re strong leading ladies, but they’re also creating their own content and telling incredible stories.

PC: Like you were saying, in addition to acting, you’re also a producer. How has your work behind the scenes made you a stronger actress and vice versa?
Ana: It’s definitely made me more aware as an actor. Typically, as an actor, you walk onto a set and you think you’re the most important person there and that the whole set revolves around you. But in reality, there are hundreds of people who have to come together, work together to make any project come to life. As an actor, you’re just a piece of the puzzle. So I definitely have a greater respect for filmmaking as a whole.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success already in your young career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out to you?
Ana: The Cuban is up there, but I would say working alongside John Travolta, who is an icon. That was definitely one of the proudest moments of my career so far. Being a huge music theater nerd, it was a dream come true for me to work with him.

The Cuban

PC: Speaking of The Cuban, tell us about the film and the inspiration behind it.
Ana: The film is about a young Afghan immigrant named Mina who starts her first job in a nursing home. There she meets this enigmatic patient played by Louis Gossett Jr., Luis, who has Alzheimer’s and dementia. Mina discovers, through music, that Luis used to be a once-famous musician in Cuba. So we spend a lot of the film in his memories, in these flashbacks of 1940s, 1950s Havana. So it’s a very colorful, musical uplifting film. As far as the inspiration goes, I was between seasons on Degrassi and we were going through the switch from MTV/Nickelodeon to Netflix, so we went from forty-four episodes seasons down to the standard ten on Netflix. I had a lot of time on my hand. I was itching to expand my horizons within the industry, and at the same time, I was going through a lot with my great-grandmother, who’s alive and well and ninety-three, but she suffers from Alzheimer’s and dementia.

I saw firsthand how music affected her mood. She becomes a lot more engaging and social. For me, that was the core of why I wanted to make The Cuban. I wanted to shine a light on music therapy.

My partner, Taras Koltun, had a dream about his grandfather, who also had Alzheimer’s, and he regretted not spending more time with him and listening to his stories and wisdom. Between the two of us and our respective situations, we came together and decided to put together a pitch for a short film. Then we pitched it to Sergio [Navarretta], the director, and then to Alessandra [Piccione], the writer. Then we got Lou on board with the short, and basically when he signed on, everything snowballed and it blew up into a feature.

PC: This is an incredibly personal film for you, which you’ve been working on for a few years. Does that bring a different weight to the project?
Ana: Absolutely. I mean, every project I sign on to I give a hundred percent of myself to. But because of the time commitment that went along with The Cuban in terms of development, it became a part of me. I became Mina. Having meetings with Alessandra almost every day, she took elements of me and incorporated them into the story as well. So it was incredibly personal on so many levels.

PC: I also love the story behind how you got Lou involved. For readers who may not be familiar, could you share that story?
Ana: [laughs] Of course. To get Lou to sign on, we basically did everything and anything to get him. We went the regular routes of agent and manager, obviously. We never heard back from either or got turned down. Then we went to his publicist. Then I reached out to my friend Stephan James, who had worked with him a couple of times. We literally did everything.

The final straw was it was announced that he would be at TIFF for King of the Dancehall, directed by Nick Cannon. So we decided to get tickets to opening night. After the screening, we went behind the theater to the stage door, script and pitch package in hand. We pretty much forced it into his hands and his team’s hands, and that was it. Two weeks later, we got a call, and that was the beginning of the end.

PC: In addition to starring in the film, you also produced it. How challenging was it to wear multiple hats?
Ana: Definitely more than I ever imagined. [laughs] Definitely more difficult than I thought it would be. I really didn’t know what I was signing up for when I decided to produce. I didn’t even know what producing was. But of course, I had an incredible team surrounding me. My partners Sergio, Alessandra, and Taras really complemented me when I wasn’t able to fulfill the full duty of being a producer.

So it was a balancing act for sure. I would spend my mornings in hair and makeup hearing about what the day was going to look like from a producer’s standpoint, and then I’d switch and have my actor’s hat on and be in the zone, ignoring all the other issues that were happening. I would be debriefed at lunch and then back to being an actor. Then debriefed after the day was over. It was a whirlwind every day but memories to last a lifetime. I definitely learned a lot.

PC: What was the biggest takeaway from this project?
Ana: I realized that I am capable of a lot more than I thought I was. There were multiple times through this process that I questioned myself. I’m like, “Can I actually do this?” Especially being nineteen or twenty when we first started developing the seed of an idea for this film. Being a young female on a teen soap, there were a lot of obstacles to overcome in terms of the optics and being taken seriously. I would often second-guess myself. I’m like, “Can I do this? Is this for me?” Ultimately, we got to the other side, and I’m so glad I went through this entire experience. I realized I have a lot more power than I thought I did.

PC: You’ve said in previous interviews that this experience really sparked your passion to continue to produce. As you look ahead, what are the types of stories you hope to tell?
Ana: The stories I hope to tell are stories that really leave a lasting impact on people. As storytellers, we have a social responsibility. It’s really important to tell stories that, one, inform people, and two, make a positive impact on this world. There’s a lot of negativity out there. Any time that we are able to be uplifting and a source of hope and inspiration, I think we should take it. We need some more positivity in this world.

PC: With the film out now in select theaters, what do you hope audiences take away?
Ana: I hope audiences take away the importance of valuing our elders now more than ever because of the pandemic. Our aging population is, unfortunately, leaving us at a rate that’s much higher than usual. I encourage viewers to spend more time with their loved ones and listen to their stories because you never know when they’re going to be taken away from us.

To keep up with Ana, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Catch The Cuban in select theaters today.

Photo Credit: Fadil Berisha