When We Win: HANDS OFF CUBA / MAESTRA
2026-07-21 19:00 - 21:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | La Pena, 3105 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA, 94705, United States
Overview

We will be focusing on HANDS OFF CUBA solidarity efforts and a screening of the documentary film MAESTRA.

When We Win Film Series: HANDS OFF CUBA / MAESTRA Documentary Film
Sliding Scale Tickets: $5 – $25 | No one turned away for lack of funds | FREE for La Peña Members
Tickets available online and at the door until we reach capacity.
This month’s gathering we will be focusing on HANDS OFF CUBA solidarity efforts and a screening of the documentary film MAESTRA.
All are welcome. Seating will be theater-style.

Sign up to Volunteer (free entry): Lapena.info/volunteer
For accessibility requests, please contact us at least one week in advance. Email us at programs@Lapena.org.

About the Film:

MAESTRA (2012)
A film by Catherine Murphy
Cuba, 1961: 250,000 volunteers taught 700,000 people to read and write in one year. 100,000 of the teachers were under 18 years old. Over half were women.
MAESTRA (2012) explores this story through the personal testimonies of the young women who went out to teach literacy in rural communities across the island – and found themselves deeply transformed in the process.
The Cuban Literacy Campaign is an important but little-known chapter in the history of the Americas. Catherine Murphy has created a project with rare and intimate access to this history. Her documentary MAESTRA brings together moving interviews with living witnesses, beautiful archival film footage, and Catherine’s compelling storytelling. Based on personal testimonies of teachers and students from the campaign, her film will preserve the oral histories of a generation that will soon be gone. The historical significance of this archive -and its lessons for the
present- cannot be overstated. —Howard Zinn, Historian, Author of “The Peoples History of the United States”

About this Political Education Series:
When We Win: Political Education Film Series spotlights people’s struggles for liberation, decolonization, and the world to come. Each screening will include political education with facilitation, interactive discussions, and conversations featuring remarks from filmmakers and/or organizers active in peoples’ movements for liberation and justice.

Sign up to Volunteer (free entry): Lapena.info/volunteer
Learn more about upcoming film screenings at Lapena.info/we-win
Presented by La Peña Cultural Center, Center for Political Education, and Freedom Archives. Sponsored by the SFSU Film School.

Accessibility:

La Peña is a wheelchair-accessible venue with step-less entry, wide doorways, and accessible restrooms.
Restrooms are all-gender.
Masks are strongly encouraged. If you’re experiencing COVID-19, cold, or flu-like symptoms, please consider staying home to protect our community. HEPA air purifiers operate throughout our space.

We strive to make La Peña a welcoming, accessible space for everyone. For accommodation requests, please contact us at least one week in advance, and we’ll do our best to support you. Email us at programs@Lapena.org.
Getting to La Peña:

Public Transit: The 18 bus line stops directly across the street (Shattuck & Woolsey), and Ashby BART is just two blocks away.
Parking: Free street parking is available, or park at the Ashby BART station for a fee.
Bike-Friendly: Bike racks are available outside La Peña.

Support La Peña

La Peña Members get FREE entry for this event! Become a member to unlock discounts, free events, and other perks all year. Join today: Lapena.org/members
Make a tax-deductible donation to sustain the art, culture and community programs that keep La Peña thriving. Donate: Lapena.org/donate

Questions?

Email programs@Lapena.org | Contact us

When We Win: Free Joan Little
2026-08-18 19:00 - 21:30
When We Win Film Series: FREE JOAN LITTLE – Bay Area Premiere with Film’s Director, Yoruba Richen
Sliding Scale Tickets: $15 – $35 | No one turned away for lack of funds | FREE for La Peña Members
Tickets available online and at the door until we reach capacity.
This month’s gathering is the Bay Area’s premiere of FREE JOAN LITTLE by Yoruba Richen and benefit for California Coalition for Women Prisoners. Content warning: sexual assault.
Explore with us: How does the legacy of Joan Little’s defense inform our current movements to resist sexual violence within the carceral system today?
Special guests

Yoruba Richen | Film Director, FREE JOAN LITTLE
Members of California Coalition for Women Prisoners

All are welcome. Seating will be theater-style.

Sign up to Volunteer (free entry): Lapena.info/volunteer
For accessibility requests, please contact us at least one week in advance. Email us at programs@Lapena.org.
Learn More about When We Win Political Education Film Series
Presented by La Peña Cultural Center, Center for Political Education, and Freedom Archives. Sponsored by the SFSU Film School and California Coalition for Women Prisoners.

Benefit for California Coalition for Women Prisoners
CCWP is a grassroots abolitionist organization—with members inside and outside prison—that challenges the institutional violence imposed on women, transgender people, and communities of color by the prison industrial complex (PIC). We see the struggle for racial and gender justice as central to dismantling the PIC and we prioritize the leadership of the people, families, and communities most impacted in building this movement.

About the Film:

FREE JOAN LITTLE (2025)
Content includes topic of sexual assault.
FREE JOAN LITTLE tells the story of the 1975 groundbreaking case of Joan Little who was the first woman in U.S history to be acquitted for using deadly force to resist sexual assault. At 20 years old, Joan (pronounced Jo-Ann) Little was incarcerated in North Carolina when she killed a white jailer who she said tried to rape her. Her trial drew international attention, becoming a rallying point for civil rights, women’s rights and prison reform. The case brought together activists, including Angela Davis and Rosa Parks, and catalyzed an international conversation about sexual assault and racial justice that has reverberations to this day. With rare archival footage, contemporary interviews and the folk anthem that carried her cause, FREE JOAN LITTLE captures the spirit of resistance that made history. The film features Oscar-nominated actress Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple) as the voice of Joan and is produced by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Christalyn Hampton (The Devil is Busy).
“Somebody has to make the sacrifice in order for there to be a change in the system.
So it may as well be me.” – Joan Little

Accessibility:

La Peña is a wheelchair-accessible venue with step-less entry, wide doorways, and accessible restrooms.
Restrooms are all-gender.
Masks are strongly encouraged. If you’re experiencing COVID-19, cold, or flu-like symptoms, please consider staying home to protect our community. HEPA air purifiers operate throughout our space.

We strive to make La Peña a welcoming, accessible space for everyone. For accommodation requests, please contact us at least one week in advance, and we’ll do our best to support you. Email us at programs@Lapena.org.
Getting to La Peña:

Public Transit: The 18 bus line stops directly across the street (Shattuck & Woolsey), and Ashby BART is just two blocks away.
Parking: Free street parking is available, or park at the Ashby BART station for a fee.
Bike-Friendly: Bike racks are available outside La Peña.

Questions?

Email programs@Lapena.org | Contact us
