Clouds Over Cuba is an interactive multimedia documentary in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Launching on October 16, 2012, exactly 50 years after Soviet missiles were discovered in Cuba, this project lays out the full story of the Crisis, beginning in 1959 and continuing on until the missiles are removed in October 1962.
As you watch, dozens of archival photos, videos, documents and audio recordings will be automatically added to a digital dossier for further review at any time. Smartphone users can link their phones with the film so these items get automatically sent to their phone in sync with the documentary playback.
Along the way, the user is invited to explore 15 different subjects in greater depth via expert interviews including Sheldon M. Stern, former historian at the JFK Presidential Library and Sergei Khrushchev, son of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. Topics such as the fear of communism, the Bay of Pigs invasion and the secret ExComm recordings are all explored in detail from multiple perspectives.
But what if history had unfolded differently? Before the film concludes, users can optionally access a short film that takes place in an alternate 2012 in which the Cuban Missile Crisis did escalate into nuclear war 50 years earlier. Beautifully shot by Oscar-winning cinematographer Bob Richardson, this subtly intertwining tale tells the story of four fictional characters who each remember the horrors of nuclear war in their own way.
For users who want to follow the 13 most important days of the crisis "live" 50 years later, they can import all the secret ExComm meetings with JFK and his advisors, letters between JFK and Khrushchev and other material from the two weeks into their iCal and Google calendars with one click, so they can "attend" the meetings and receive the communication live over thirteen days, exactly 50 years after they happened.
Clouds Over Cuba was the most awarded interactive project in the world in 2013, taking 54 international honors in documentary, digital design, interactivity, mobile connectivity and research, including two Emmy nominations and one win.