In 2016, thirty-six female boxers competed at the Summer Olympics, in Rio. It was only the second time that women had competed in the sport in the Olympic Games, but already twenty-five countries, including boxing powerhouses such as the United States and Russia, were represented. One country known for its boxing program was absent: Cuba. Though the small island nation won six medals in boxing during the 2016 Games, the government bans women from competing in the sport.

So it is heartening to see Luis Pérez, a state-employed boxing coach in Havana, take on a thirteen-year-old girl named Hatzumy Carmenate as his student. Carmenate’s father was her first coach, but when he moved to the United States Pérez stepped in to help. “In Cuba, the coaches are like fathers to the kids,” Pérez said. Carmenate hopes one day to reunite with her father in the United States and continue her training there.

“Fighting Cuba’s Boxing Ban” captures the relationship between a coach and his unlikely boxer. The film also trains its camera on Havana at a moment when relations between the United States and Cuba are slowly improving. For now, Carmenate is the only girl in her boxing school. But, as Cuba opens up more to outside influence, Pérez hopes that the ban on female boxing will be lifted.