International Trade Law News

Published by Jacobson Burton Kelley PLLC

The new film Che, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Benicio Del Toro, was presented yesterday and today at the Havana Film Festival (officially the Festival Internaional del Neuvo Cine Latinoamerican) that is running from December 2-12, 2008.

The film, which is made up of two individual two hour films entitled The Argentine and Guerrilla, chronicle the life of Argentinian revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara. The films will be shown together in New York and Los Angeles the week of December 12, 2008 followed by widespread release of each film starting on January 9, 2009.

Benicio Del Toro received the Best Actor award for his portrayal of Che Guevera at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.

Che has been included on critic Roger Ebert's top 20 films of 2008.

In case you are wondering, the films were legally exported from the United States to Cuba pursuant to the "informational materials exemption" to the Trading with the Enemy Act, commonly known as the "Berman Amendment."

Thc "informational materials exemption" is found in section 2502(a) of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act, Pub. L. No. 100-418, 102 Stat. 1107 (1988), and section 525 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995, Pub. L. No. 103-236, 108 Stat. 382 (1994).

These amendments to section 5(b)(a) of the Trading with the Enemy Act, 50 U.S.C. App. 66 1-44, restrict the President's authority to regulate, directly or indirectly, the importation or exportation of information or informational materials, regardless of the format or medium of transmission or whether the information or informational materials are for personal or commercial use.

Sections 515.206 and 515.332 of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) provide notice of this exemption and define the term "information and informational materials." Section 515.545 of the CACR contains a general license covering transactions incident to such exportation and importation.

Labels: Cuba