In this retelling of the classic tale, Aladdin is an out of work indie-rock singer living in a video-game-world ruled by a perverted technology-obsessed Sultan.

Cinematographer Carlos Macovich met Yuliet Ortega, a young “jinetera” (prostitute) from Havana, when he shot a video in Cuba, starring model Fabiola Quiroz. When he realized that the two women…