STRINGS OF HAVANA
Musician on a Havana rooftop at sunset
An Invitation · Off the Grid Studios
Strings of
Havana
Music survives where almost nothing else can.

A cinematic documentary about music, craft, and what it takes to make music in Cuba — a Sundance-caliber film, in partnership with the most storied name in guitars.

In partnership with
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Old Havana street at dusk
01 — The moment

Cuba is changing.
Fast.

For decades Cuba has lived in cultural suspension — defined by a creativity born of scarcity. That moment won't last much longer.

As modernization arrives, the textures the world loves about Cuba risk vanishing. Music remains one of the last fully living expressions of Cuban identity.

When the lights go out, the music doesn't.
Weathered hands playing a guitar
02 — The heart of it

Extraordinary talent. No access.

In Cuba, a good guitar is nearly impossible to get. Bands share a single instrument. Strings are precious. Guitars are repaired endlessly and passed hand-to-hand for generations.

01
One guitar, many playersWhole bands built around a single shared instrument.
02
Repaired, never replacedInstruments kept alive by hand for decades.
03
Talent the world hasn't heardMusicians whose lives a single great guitar could change.
How the music gets made — right now

This is how they record in Cuba.

No studio. No stable power. This is a real recording session in Havana — raw, improvised, and this is honestly how dire it is. Now imagine what happens when we bring real instruments, a real crew, and cameras that turn it into cinema.

An actual recording session · Havana
03 — The partnership

This is where Martin comes in.

Three simple things. No budget conversation — just the beginning of something we build together.

01 · The instruments
Three guitars to Cuba
Two or three Martins we carry down and put into the hands of Cuban musicians — the instruments become the heart of the film.
02 · The name
Official partner
Martin as the official instrument partner — woven into the story, the craft, and the soul of the project, authentically, not as an ad.
03 · The network
Open your world
We discover extraordinary Cuban musicians and record them — then use Martin's reach to bring that music to the world.
A guitar isn't just an instrument here. It's opportunity.
A guitar leaning against a weathered Havana wall
04 — Why Martin

Since 1833, the name
music is measured against.

Martin didn't just build guitars — Martin built the dreadnought, the shape of the modern acoustic. For nearly two centuries it has stood for craftsmanship and the bond between an artist and their instrument. That's this film's whole soul.

1833
Founded — the oldest storied name in American guitars
The Dreadnought
The shape Martin invented — now the world standard
190+ yrs
Of craft, heritage, and cultural weight
Foundational
Played by the artists who defined American music
05 — Who's behind it

A team that speaks your language.

Filmmaking, guitars, commercial craft, and agency-grade campaign strategy — under one roof.

RA Beattie
Off the Grid Studios · Film & Direction
16 years in the guitar industry and 25 years of award-winning, Emmy-nominated storytelling. He knows guitars, music, and media — and he knows what Martin means.
William Woodward
Commercial Photographer & Director
Award-caliber commercial photographer and director — the product-in-the-field imagery and branded films the brand can use anywhere.
DJ O'Neil
HUb San Francisco · Campaign & Story
Founder of HUb Strategy (est. 2002) — the agency behind challenger brands like Google, Nike & Levi's; Cannes & Webby-recognized. Architects the campaign.
Access already earned in Cuba — Summer 2024
Government filming permitsDrone over HavanaHemingway's residenceA trusted local network
06 — The film

Made for the biggest stages.

Strings of Havana is built as a festival film — the kind that premieres at Sundance, lives on Netflix, and gets talked about for years. A story of resilience and craft the whole world roots for, with Martin at the center of it.

Sundance-caliberNetflix / streamingAwards runGlobal pressA story that lasts
Prestige for the brand that helped make it possible.
07 — For the brand

Every day is also a Martin shoot.

This isn't a film with a logo bolted on. The same cameras, the same rare access, and the most beautiful light on earth produce a year's worth of world-class brand content — assets Martin owns and runs everywhere.

Stills
Cinematic product imagery
Martins in real hands — rooftops, doorways, streets, golden hour. The most beautiful set on earth, not a studio.
Film
A hero brand anthem
A 60–90 second Martin film cut from the documentary — the whole story, felt in a minute and a half.
People
Artist portrait films
The musicians we discover, playing Martins — real faces, real stories, made to move people.
Social
The making-of series
Behind-the-scenes, episodic and social-native — endlessly shareable content that builds for months.
Print
Campaign & retail stills
Gallery-grade photography for advertising, retail, and editorial — a full campaign library.
Sound
Original music to license
The music we discover and record becomes the sound of the campaign — ownable and unforgettable.
One trip to Cuba. A festival film — and a year of content Martin couldn't shoot any other way.
Musician on a Havana rooftop at sunset
One partner. Only one.

We could make this with anyone. We only want you.

This isn't a pitch about finances — it's about partnership. We could take this story to a dozen brands. We won't. No one else can tell it the way Martin can, and we don't want to make it with anyone else.

Let's get a call on the books.
It's about partnership, not money. Put a few of us from Off the Grid Studios and your team on a call, and let's figure out how we make this happen — together.
Let's get on a call →
An Off the Grid Studios film · in partnership with
RA Beattie · Off the Grid Studios · ra@beattieproductions.com
Strings of Havana · An invitation to Martin Guitar