Havana Coyotes
Creative Team
Benjamin Orifici
Director / Writer / Producer
Benjamin Orifici is an award-winning filmmaker whose features and shorts have screened in festivals around the world. His cinematic exploration aims to challenge viewers’ expectations by crafting unique visual and emotional landscapes to better understand current social issues.
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He holds an M.F.A. in film directing from the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema in New York City and is a member of the Board of Advisors for the renowned Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan. Through the years, he has maintained strong connections to Cuba as an Advisory Board member of the NYC cultural foundation, American Friends of the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba (AFLFC). He is co-founder of the film production company, Celluloid Rain Productions, based in New York and Paris. Benjamin relocated to the Miami region with his family during the pandemic and teaches film production at Lynn University. (www.benjaminorifici.com)
Luis Abel Oliveros
Co-Story Writer / Casting Director
Luis Abel Oliveros is a Cuban writer and director. He is a graduate of the Universidad de las Artes (ISA), Cuba, with a degree in audiovisual communications.
For the past 14 years he has worked as a screenwriter and director at the Cuban public television station, Habana Canal, IRCT. Luis is also a teacher and coordinator of TV and New Media at the Escuela Internacional de Cine y TV, San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba.
Luis has directed and, in several cases, written documentaries including CorAlina, The Fourth Villa, María and Degree of Protection II.
Wendell Laurent
Producer / 1st Assistant Director
Wendell Laurent is an actor, writer and producer based in New York. He wrote, co-produced and starred in the multi-award-winning short film Daybreak and made his feature film debut as the lead in An Extraordinary Affair, written and directed by Benjamin Orifici. Wendell also co-wrote and co-produced with Benjamin Orifici the award-winning short film PostDemic.
Currently on the film festival circuit is the psychological short The Final Walk which Wendell wrote, produced and acted in with Beatrice Boepple and Glenn McBride, Jr.
Born and raised in New Orleans, Wendell earned a double BA in Theatre and Communications from Loyola University. After moving to New York, he co-founded Reckless Theatre Company and served as Producing Director for and acted in four Off-Broadway productions.
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Wendell is currently in pre-production for a comedy short entitled the The Dumbletons, which he will direct, and the feature film version of Daybreak. (www.wendelllaurent.com)
“While doing research for another film project, including interviewing friends whose families were also Cuban ex-pats, I fell in love with Cuba, its culture and music. When presented with the prospect of working on a feature film that would be shot in Cuba, I jumped at the chance. I never in my wildest dreams ever thought I would visit this remarkable island or meet some of its beautiful people. Just as the United States is more than just its government, so too is Cuba. I am excited to be a part of a film that will hopefully help to bridge the divide between the misconceptions about our two countries and the reality.”
—Wendell Laurent
Barney Oldfield
Executive Producer
Since 1998 Barney Oldfield has been General Manager of Angelika Entertainment Corporation where he produced the popular Too Much Sleep feature, nominated for the Independent Spirit Award, and the controversial Zero Day feature. In addition to successful film projects Barney developed and produced the MetroAngelika series and popular television & Internet programming for Cablevision and other clients.
In 2009 Barney executive produced two Internet-branded series. Easy to Assemble with Ileana Douglas and Jeff Goldblum was sponsored by IKEA; and Ctrl on NBC with Tony Hale and Steve Howey, by Nestea. He returned to film with the features Fairfield and Grinder. He is currently producing a series of alternative market films for online distribution.
