Cinema of Cuba
Encyclopedia
Cinema arrived in Cuba
at the beginning of the 20th century. Before the Cuban Revolution
of 1959, about 80 full-length films were produced in Cuba. Most of these films were melodramas. Following the revolution, Cuba entered what is considered the "Golden age" of Cuban Cinema.
, the cinematographe
traveled through several capital cities in the Americas
before arriving in Havana
, which occurred on January 24, 1897. It was brought from Mexico
by Gabriel Veyre
. The first presentation was offered at Paseo del Prado #126, just aside the Teatro Tacón, today called Gran Teatro de La Habana. Four short films were shown: Partida de cartas, El tren, El regador y el muchacho y El sombrero cómico. The tickets were sold at a price of 50 cents, and 20 cents for kids and the military. Short after, Veyre performed a leading role in the first film produced in the island, Simulacro de incendio, a documentary centered around firemen in Havana.
In this first phase of introduction there were several locations devoted to cinema: Panorama Soler, Salón de variedades o ilusiones ópticas, Paseo del Prado #118, Vitascopio de Edison (in the famous Louvre sidewalk). The Teatro Irioja (today Teatro Martí) was the first to present cinema as one of its attractions. The first in a long list of movie theatres in Havana was set by José A. Casasús, actor, producer and entrepreneur, under the name of "Floradora", later renamed "Alaska".
In the six or seven years before World War I
, cinema gets expanded and stabilized as a business in the most important cities in Latin America
. Cuba, just as the rest of the countries in the continent, went through those first years with itinerant and sporadic exhibitions, changing from European providers to North American providers, starting the dependency on the big Hollywood companies.
The first ambitious genre in the continent was probably historic reviews. In Cuba films like El Capitán Mambí y Libertadores o guerrilleros (1914), de Enríque Díaz Quesada with support from the general Mario García Menocal
are worth mentioning. Díaz Quesada adapted from the Spanish novelist Joaquín Dicenta
in 1910, as a tendency widely used then, of using literary works adapted for movies, as well as imitating Chaplin, the French comedies and cowboys adventure films. The silent stage of production was extended until 1937, when the first full-length fiction movie was produced.
. Musicians such as Ernesto Lecuona
, Bola de Nieve
or Rita Montaner
also performed and composed for movies in several countries.
, and La vivienda by Julio García Espinosa. This was the direct ancestor of what would eventually become the ICAIC (Instituto Cubano del Arte y la Industria Cinematográficos), which was founded in March as a result of the first culture law of the revolutionary government. Film, according to this law, is "the most powerful and provocative form of artistic expression, and the most direct and widespread vehicle for education and bringing ideas to the public." From its foundation up until 1980, Alfredo Guevara was head of the ICAIC. Under his direction, the organization was pivotal in the development of Cuban cinema which came to be identified with anti-imperialism and revolution.
The first ten years of the institution were called by critics, the Golden Age (Década de Oro) of Cuban cinema, most of all because of the making of Lucía
(1969) by Humberto Solás
and Memorias del subdesarrollo
(1968) by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea. These two directors are often regarded as the best film directors to have come out of Cuba. Memorias del subdesarrollo was selected among the best 100 films of all times by the International Federation of Film-Clubs. One of the most prolific and strong branches of the Cuban cinema in the last 40 years has been documentaries and short-films. The documentary Now (1965) by Santiago Álvarez
is often considered the first video clip
in history. It combines a song with an uninterrupted sequence of images depicting racial discrimination in the U.S..
Animation has also been a major highlight in the last decades. In 1974 Juan Padrón gave birth to Elpidio Valdés
, a character that represents a mambí fighter, struggling for Cuban independence against the Spanish occupation in the 19th century. It is very popular among Cuban children. Another great success of Cuban animation was the full-length film Vampiros en La Habana (1983), also by Juan Padrón.
Essential in the history of Cuban cinema is the Noticiero ICAIC Latinoamericano (Latin-American ICAIC News) whose first director was Alfredo Guevara. Years later it was directed by Santiago Álvarez and the Mexican Rodolfo Espino, the most successful documentary maker in the island. In 1979 the ICAIC played a key role in the creation of the Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano (International Festival of New Latin American Cinema) allowing Latin American films a more international audience. The festival is one of the most important of its type in Latin America and has been held in Havana every year since 1979. There is also an international cinema university, the Escuela Internacional de Cine, Televisión y Video de San Antonio de los Baños (International School of Cinema, Television and Video of San Antonio de los Baños) located in San Antonio de los Baños
near Havana, on land donated by the Cuban government and supported by the Fundación del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano, Gabriel García Márquez
and the Father of the New Latin American Cinema, Fernando Birri. Hundreds of young students from all over Latin America have studied direction, script, photography and edition.
The contribution of the ICAIC, which was rapidly positioned as the head of a process aiming for legitimate artistic values and expression of nationality, is not limited only to the support in producing and promoting a movement that spanned fiction, documentary and animation, but also allowed for the exhibition and spread of popular knowledge of the best of cinema from all over the world. It also created the film archives of the Cinemateca de Cuba, and took part in initiatives such as Cinemóviles, which made cinema available on the most intricate sites of the national geography.
The institution also helped developing the Cuban poster, as a mean of promoting films. It gave birth between 1969 and 1977, to the Grupo de Experimentación Sonora, which influenced Cuban music to a great extent, serving as a starting point for the movement of the Nueva Trova
. Figures like Silvio Rodríguez
, Pablo Milanés
and Leo Brouwer
were prominent through all this process.
In 1980, Alfredo Guevara was ousted from his position as head of the ICAIC, which he had held since its formation, over controversies about the film Celia. The film, directed by Humberto Solás, was based on the 19th century Cuban novel, Cecilia Valdés. It was the most ambitious Cuban film to date and somewhat monopolized the funds available to filmmakers during its production. This, coupled with the fact that many other directors and the general public did not agree with Solás' interpretation of the film, led to the removal of Alfredo Guevara from his position.
Having won a great deal of autonomy from the central government in the 1970s, the ICAIC, under the new leadership of Julio García Espinosa, was allowed to make many films dealing with sociopolitical issues. Espinosa was able to increase the recognition of Cuban film and especially of the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema by obtaining greater funds from the government and also inviting big names such as Francis Ford Coppola, Sidney Pollack, Robert De Niro, and Jack Lemmon to the island. Despite his successes, Espinosa faced a large problem in 1991, again due to a controversial film. This film, entitled Alicia en el pueblo de Maravillas, was very critical of the bureaucracy of the government. This, combined with the simultaneous collapse of the Soviet Union, led to Espinosa's retirement.
During this time, Alfredo Guevara returned to the scene of the ICAIC in order to help it maintain its autonomy from the central government. Many of the party faithful were calling for the organization to merge with the Cuban Radio and Television Institute. Due to the loss of Cuba's largest trading partner, the Soviet Union, the future of the island country became uncertain, and criticism of the government, which the ICAIC was known for, became unpopular. Guevara managed to get the film released and allow the ICAIC to keep its independent status. He then remained president of the organization throughout the Special Period
until his retirement in 2000.
One of the most notable Cuban films in the recent years was Fresa y Chocolate (1993) by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío
. It is about intolerance, and portrays the friendship between a homosexual and a young member of the Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas (a communist youth organization). It was also the first Cuban production to ever be nominated for the Oscars.
Omar González succeeded Alfredo Guevara as the head of the ICAIC and remains in that position today. It continues to directly aid in the production and distribution of films and has production offices, issues film permits, rents studios and equipment to filmmakers, and is closely involved in each stage of the film, from its inception and production, to its distribution and release.
that links them emotionally and psychologically to the island. Over one million Cubans have left Cuba since 1959 in different waves of immigration. Among those are talented directors, technicians and actors who settled in the USA, Latin America or Europe, in search of work and creative space in the field of cinema.
Orlando Jiménez Leal, one of the best known exile filmmakers, produced El Super
(1979), the first Cuban exile fictional film, directed by Jiménez Leal and his young brother-in-law, Leon Ichaso. Based on a play by Ivan Acosta, the film was broadly distributed in the U.S. and won awards at film festivals in Manheim, Biarritz and Venice. The film examines the trauma of the Cuban middle class, showing them as displaced from their former life and unable to adapt to new circumstances. It also highlights generational conflicts between Cuban-born parents and their teenage children who have been raised in the U.S. and reject tradition in favor of the American way of life. Jiménez Leal went on to make documentary films such as The Other Cuba (1983) and Improper Conduct
(1984) in collaboration with Néstor Almendros. Improper Conduct is a highly controversial film that deals with the treatment of gays in Cuba. The Other Cuba is a bitter denunciation of the Revolution told from the point of view of the exiled community. The director’s strong anti-Castro stance gave voice to the growing community of Cuban political exiles in the U.S. in the 1980s.
Leon Ichaso’s best known film in the U.S. is Bitter Sugar (1996), a fictional film that strongly criticizes life in post-revolutionary Cuba. It shows the disillusionment of a young Communist and his girlfriend, who are pushed to the breaking point by a repressive society. In tone and theme, it’s similar to Jorge Ulla’s Guaguasí (1982), which had less distribution in the U.S. Guaguasí portrays a simple man from the countryside who is brutalized by his experiences with the revolutionary government in Cuba. The reactionary stance of directors like Ulla, Ichazo, Almendros and Jiménez Leal has made them the cinematic spokespersons for Cuban Americans who believe that Fidel Castro
is personally responsible for negative changes that have occurred in Cuba since 1959.
An important theme in cinema of the Cuban disapora is the coming and going of people in exile, and the difficult process of adaptation to a new culture. Iván Acosta made the film Amigos (1986) to show the painful bicultural existence of Cuban-Americans living in Miami. Although it’s a low-budget film, it does an effective job of capturing the problems of the younger generation of Cuban Americans who are torn between the desire to fit in and the pressure to uphold tradition. Lejanía (1985) by Jesús Díaz is the first film to deal with the issue of Cuban exiles returning to the island for visits with relatives. Cercanía (2008) by Rolando Díaz, the brother of Jesús, shows a recent arrival from Cuba attempting to reconcile with his family in Miami after decades apart. Rather than address political themes in a direct way, these films focus on personal issues related to adaptation and culture shock. Honey for Oshún (2001) by Humberto Solás, a Cuban director who remained in Cuba, addresses the clash between Cuban Americans returning to the island and those who never left. It hints that reconciliation is possible, as long as those who return are willing to accept Cuba on its own terms and not force capitalist ideology on the Cuban people.
In Cuba, films made by Cuban-Americans or Cubans in exile are not widely distributed or well known, in part because the films deal with the Revolution in a negative light, but also because Cubans on the island dispute the notion of a Cuban diaspora and believe that those who live in exile no longer represent Cuban reality in an authentic light. They take the position that directors who experience life outside Cuba represent Cuba through a distorted lens, and that the films they make are largely works of propaganda.
Many important Cuban actors now live in exile. Among them are César Évora
, Anabel Leal, Reinaldo Cruz, Francisco Gattorno
, Reynaldo Miravalles, Tomás Millán, William Marquez, Orestes Matacena and Isabel Moreno. Cuban American actors who were born in Cuba but grew up in the U.S. include Andy García
, Steven Bauer
, William Levy
, and Tony Plana
.
of films has become very important for the cinema of Cuba and also for the rest of Latin America. An internationally co-produced film is one in which two or more production companies from different countries are involved, or the financing has been sourced from more than one country. Co-productions are becoming increasingly common today but even as early as 1948 were common between Cuba and Mexico.
International co-productions began to take off in the 1960s and 1970s, many with the aim of increasing political awareness and highlighting common problems in Latin American countries. Before its dissolution, the USSR also played a role of co-producing films in Cuba such as Mikhail Kalatozov
’s I Am Cuba
. The increased importance of co-produced films was inevitable due to globalization, and in the case of Cuba especially, due to a lack of economic resources. A film created with the cooperation of two or more countries nearly always guaranteed distribution in both countries, resulting in a greater audience and increased revenues. This also allowed for more exposure of regional cinemas.
Beginning as early as the 1930s Spain played a role in producing Latin American and Cuban films, but began to invest more heavily in the 1990s. In 1997 Ibermedia was created for the purpose of promoting co-production between Spain and Latin American countries. There are 14 countries involved in this organization and Cuba is one of them. Two examples of Cuban co-produced films are Humberto Solás’ Celia (Cuba/Spain) and Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío’s Academy Award-nominatedFresa y chocolate(Cuba/Mexico/Spain/USA).
There have been mixed opinions about the development of co-productions. For some it is a necessary evil. Humberto Solás states that “For established filmmakers there is not a single cent for production. We are obliged to seek co-productions. If a film is not co-produced, it will not be made.” The problem with finding foreign funding for Cuban films is that, oftentimes, the financiers want to have some amount of influence over the final product so that it can be successful in their own countries. Frequently there are also stipulations that require a certain number of cast and crew to be working on the film from each of the producing countries. For example, a Cuban film that was co-produced by Spain would require a certain number of Spanish actors, writers or directors, and production technicians. This makes it difficult for Cuban national cinema to hold on to its identity and also creates issues when determining the nationality of a film. Julio García Espinosa agrees that the benefit of co-productions is that it has allowed for films to continue being made in Cuba and Latin America, but believes that the most successful co-productions are those that exist solely between Latin American countries.
Cuba has been involved in aiding in the production of other Latin American films, but through technical assistance rather than acting as a financier. One example is Chilean Miguel Littin’s Academy Award-nominated Alsino and the Condor
, which was shot in Nicaragua
and received technical support from Cuba. Also in the late 1980s, Cuba created the Third World Film School to train students from various third world countries in the art of filmmaking.
It can be acknowledged that Imperfect Cinema was creative, innovative and possessed a distinctive style that is typically a very thought provoking original work of art. Imperfect films captured the viewer’s attention because the relevance of the story line matched what the audiences were experiencing in their own lives. Imperfect cinema is a form or theme found through audiences that have struggled in life and are aware of the hard times the people were going through. Only in the person who suffers do we perceive elegance, gravity, even beauty; only in him do we recognize the possibility of authenticity, seriousness, and sincerity. Not only does imperfect cinema represent the struggles of the people it also reveals the process which has generated the problem. The subjective element is the selection of the problem, conditioned as it is by the interest of the audience-which is the subject. The objective element is showing the process-which is the object. Imperfect cinema uses the audience as the subject to show the process of the problem as the object.
Aside from indicating the demonstrative, communicative and inquisitive qualities, these characteristics also convey an implicit utilitarian quality. In other words, Imperfect Cinema possesses utilitarian features because it must perform a particular political function within society. Cubans felt included by the films which gave them a sense of importance and pride. Cuban and Latin American films were successful in the international market even though they did not always fit the hegemonic models or use mainstream film languages. Imperfect cinema is a great example of film that is accepted internationally even though it does not fit into the Hollywood genre or codes of representation.
Style for Imperfect Cinema is thus defined by the specific techniques and qualities contextualized in orthodox Marxism's aesthetics of content over form, such as the use of 'type' characters, harsh imagery made by scratches, under/over exposure, high contrast, excessive movements of the camera, presentation of historical events and the wide use of hand-held cameras. This form of film was very popular among the revolutionary people because the films were portrayed in a manner that was very easy to relate to and shared a common feeling and interest among the people that were experiencing similar situations that were occurring in Cuba at the time. The revolution provided alternatives, supplied an entirely new response, enabled the country to do away with elitist concepts and practices in art, and was the highest expression of culture because it abolished artistic culture as a fragmentary human activity.
Imperfect Cinema was responsible for making a reputation for Cuban film, but by the mid 1970s, Cuban filmmakers were purposely making a different style of cinema. Chanan, for example, concludes that by the late 1970s Imperfect Cinema had just about disappeared. He believes that since then Cuban cinema has given up the challenge of creating its own style in favor of imitating Hollywood. For Garcia Espinosa and many of his fellow Latin American filmmakers, Imperfect Cinema was the answer to the need of creating a form of art that demonstrates the process of the problems . . . not a cinema to beautifully illustrate concepts and ideas we already know. The purpose of this revolutionary form of film was derived from the revolution itself. By 1989, Cuban cinema had the formal sophistication to carry any revolutionary message, or none at all. Imperfect cinema was no longer interested in quality or technique. It can be created equally well with a Mitchell or with an 8mm camera, in a studio or in a guerrilla camp in the middle of the jungle.
Since all of these critical operations require new approaches to film directing, we cannot expect flawless results every time. Films built on the consecrated conventions of traditional cinematography are more likely to attain technical “perfection” than those necessarily “imperfect” attempts to challenge established conventions and search out new approaches. The opposite of imperfect cinema is “perfect” cinema which is basically described as films that are portrayed as perfect, flawless, and contain beautiful scenery. The majority of scenes that are shot in a “perfect” film are in a beautiful place, typically the film is not produced to make the viewer think, and they’re usually more aesthetically pleasing rather than meaningful. We maintain that imperfect cinema must above all show the process which generates the problems. It is thus the opposite of a cinema principally dedicated to celebrating results, the opposite of a self-sufficient and contemplative cinema, the opposite of a cinema which "beautifully illustrates" ideas or concepts which we already possess.
Modern authorship is established and valued mostly as a matter of output and public success. “Perfect” films are valued by critics, awards, and merchandise that are produced because of the film. Compared to “perfect” films, imperfect films focus on the art, sending a message, and creating substance. Most Latin American films can only achieve success in the international market if they emulate hegemonic models and borrow from mainstream film languages. The “perfect” films are difficult for Latin American and Cuban film makers to compete with because most viewers are interested in watching films that are visually attractive and don’t require a lot of thought while watching. It stands to reason that today’s changing circumstances of film production and consumption determine that genres cannot exist by mere repetition and recycling of past models but have to engage with difference and change. Art will not disappear into nothingness; it will disappear into everything.
The films that were produced were no longer made solely for Cuban people, but mainly for foreign audiences. Pastor Vega states “Before one only thought about the Cuban public. Now you have to think about ‘marketing’ and ‘profits’ and all that.” However, the films that were produced for the Cuban people, tended to take a more drastic turn towards more controversial issues. One of the biggest genres that came out of this period was about homosexuality. One of the most popular movies that come out of this time period is called Fresa y Chocolate (1994, Strawberry and Chocolate). The success of this movie “can be partially explained by the way the film elicits multiple recognition from the Cuban viewer” and that it makes the viewer think/look at the film in a different light.
During this time the producers and directors had to always think about cost of production. In the past, going on long excursions to make films were the standard rather than the exception. A perfect example of a movie that was made through this time period is called Madagascar (1994), directed by Fernando Perez. Ann Marie Stock states (about the production of Madagascar):
The films that were lucky enough to be put into production, found them that they were being produced as close to the ICAIC (Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry) as possible, or found that the major cities (Havana, Santiago de Cuba, etc.…) became the backdrop to the plot of the movies. This allowed the directors to use ordinary citizens to be used in the movies instead of having to bring in extras for production. The director could even use to the citizens homes as a backdrop, if the owner agreed to allow the director to use it.
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
at the beginning of the 20th century. Before the Cuban Revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
of 1959, about 80 full-length films were produced in Cuba. Most of these films were melodramas. Following the revolution, Cuba entered what is considered the "Golden age" of Cuban Cinema.
Early stages
After being popularised by the brothers Louis Jean and Auguste Marie LumièreAuguste and Louis Lumière
The Lumière brothers, Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas and Louis Jean , were among the earliest filmmakers in history...
, the cinematographe
Cinematographe
A cinematograph is a film camera, which also serves as a film projector and developer. It was invented in the 1890s.Note that this was not the first 'moving picture' device. Louis Le Prince had built early devices in 1886. His 1888 film Roundhay Garden Scene still survives.There is much dispute as...
traveled through several capital cities in the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
before arriving in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, which occurred on January 24, 1897. It was brought from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
by Gabriel Veyre
Gabriel Veyre
Gabriel Veyre was an early film director and photographer born in France, but mainly known for his work in México, Indochina and Morocco.-Biography:Veyre graduated in pharmacy from Lyon University...
. The first presentation was offered at Paseo del Prado #126, just aside the Teatro Tacón, today called Gran Teatro de La Habana. Four short films were shown: Partida de cartas, El tren, El regador y el muchacho y El sombrero cómico. The tickets were sold at a price of 50 cents, and 20 cents for kids and the military. Short after, Veyre performed a leading role in the first film produced in the island, Simulacro de incendio, a documentary centered around firemen in Havana.
In this first phase of introduction there were several locations devoted to cinema: Panorama Soler, Salón de variedades o ilusiones ópticas, Paseo del Prado #118, Vitascopio de Edison (in the famous Louvre sidewalk). The Teatro Irioja (today Teatro Martí) was the first to present cinema as one of its attractions. The first in a long list of movie theatres in Havana was set by José A. Casasús, actor, producer and entrepreneur, under the name of "Floradora", later renamed "Alaska".
In the six or seven years before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, cinema gets expanded and stabilized as a business in the most important cities in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. Cuba, just as the rest of the countries in the continent, went through those first years with itinerant and sporadic exhibitions, changing from European providers to North American providers, starting the dependency on the big Hollywood companies.
The first ambitious genre in the continent was probably historic reviews. In Cuba films like El Capitán Mambí y Libertadores o guerrilleros (1914), de Enríque Díaz Quesada with support from the general Mario García Menocal
Mario García Menocal
Aurelio Mario García Menocal y Deop was President of Cuba, from 1913 to 1921...
are worth mentioning. Díaz Quesada adapted from the Spanish novelist Joaquín Dicenta
Joaquín Dicenta
Joaquín Dicenta Benedicto was a Spanish journalist, novelist, playwright and poet....
in 1910, as a tendency widely used then, of using literary works adapted for movies, as well as imitating Chaplin, the French comedies and cowboys adventure films. The silent stage of production was extended until 1937, when the first full-length fiction movie was produced.
Pre-revolutionary cinema
Before the Cuban Revolution of 1959 the total film production was around 80 full-length movies. Some films are worth mentioning, such as La Virgen de la Caridad starring Miguel Santos and Romance del Palmar by Ramón Peón. Many famous people from the continent came to the island to film, and some leading Cuban actors had a strong presence mainly in Mexico and ArgentinaArgentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. Musicians such as Ernesto Lecuona
Ernesto Lecuona
Ernesto Lecuona y Casado was a Cuban composer and pianist of Canarian father and Cuban mother, and worldwide fame. He composed over six hundred pieces, mostly in the Cuban vein, and was a pianist of exceptional quality....
, Bola de Nieve
Bola de Nieve
Bola de Nieve , born Ignacio Jacinto Villa, was a successful Cuban singer-pianist and songwriter, whose round, black face earned him the nickname by which he was always known....
or Rita Montaner
Rita Montaner
Rita Montaner, born Rita Aurelia Fulcida Montaner y Facenda , was a Cuban singer, pianist, actress and star of stage, film, radio and television. In Cuban parlance, she was a vedette , and she was well known in Mexico City, Paris, Miami and New York, where she performed, filmed and recorded on...
also performed and composed for movies in several countries.
Cinema after the revolution
In the first days of 1959 the new government created a cinematographic department within the Dirección de Cultura del Ejército Rebelde (Culture division of the Rebel Army), which sponsored the production of documentaries such as Esta tierra nuestra by Tomás Gutiérrez AleaTomás Gutiérrez Alea
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea was a Cuban filmmaker. He wrote and directed more than 20 features, documentaries, and short films, which are known for his sharp insight into post-Revolutionary Cuba, and possess a delicate balance between dedication to the revolution and criticism of the social, economic,...
, and La vivienda by Julio García Espinosa. This was the direct ancestor of what would eventually become the ICAIC (Instituto Cubano del Arte y la Industria Cinematográficos), which was founded in March as a result of the first culture law of the revolutionary government. Film, according to this law, is "the most powerful and provocative form of artistic expression, and the most direct and widespread vehicle for education and bringing ideas to the public." From its foundation up until 1980, Alfredo Guevara was head of the ICAIC. Under his direction, the organization was pivotal in the development of Cuban cinema which came to be identified with anti-imperialism and revolution.
The first ten years of the institution were called by critics, the Golden Age (Década de Oro) of Cuban cinema, most of all because of the making of Lucía
Lucía
Lucía is a 1968 Cuban black-and-white film directed by Humberto Solás, and written by Julio García Espinosa and Nelson Rodríguez. It was the winner of the Golden Prize at the 1969 Moscow International Film Festival....
(1969) by Humberto Solás
Humberto Solás
Humberto Solás was a Cuban film director, credited with directing the classic film Lucía , which explored the lives of Cuban women during different periods in Cuban history....
and Memorias del subdesarrollo
Memorias del Subdesarrollo
Memories of Underdevelopment is a seminal 1968 Latin American film from Cuba. Directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, the story is based on a novel by Edmundo Desnoes. It was Alea's fifth film, and probably his most famous worldwide...
(1968) by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea. These two directors are often regarded as the best film directors to have come out of Cuba. Memorias del subdesarrollo was selected among the best 100 films of all times by the International Federation of Film-Clubs. One of the most prolific and strong branches of the Cuban cinema in the last 40 years has been documentaries and short-films. The documentary Now (1965) by Santiago Álvarez
Santiago Álvarez
Santiago Álvarez Román was a Cuban filmmaker. He wrote and directed many documentaries about Cuban and American culture...
is often considered the first video clip
Video clip
Video clips are short clips of video, usually part of a longer recording. The term is also more loosely used to mean any short video less than the length of a traditional television program.- On the Internet :...
in history. It combines a song with an uninterrupted sequence of images depicting racial discrimination in the U.S..
Animation has also been a major highlight in the last decades. In 1974 Juan Padrón gave birth to Elpidio Valdés
Elpidio Valdés
Elpidio Valdés is a cartoon character and comic, who starred in a number of features, shorts and strips of the same name. It was created in 1970 by cartoonist and Cuban filmmaker Juan Padrón, considered the father of Cuban film animation and director of the first three animated feature films...
, a character that represents a mambí fighter, struggling for Cuban independence against the Spanish occupation in the 19th century. It is very popular among Cuban children. Another great success of Cuban animation was the full-length film Vampiros en La Habana (1983), also by Juan Padrón.
Essential in the history of Cuban cinema is the Noticiero ICAIC Latinoamericano (Latin-American ICAIC News) whose first director was Alfredo Guevara. Years later it was directed by Santiago Álvarez and the Mexican Rodolfo Espino, the most successful documentary maker in the island. In 1979 the ICAIC played a key role in the creation of the Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano (International Festival of New Latin American Cinema) allowing Latin American films a more international audience. The festival is one of the most important of its type in Latin America and has been held in Havana every year since 1979. There is also an international cinema university, the Escuela Internacional de Cine, Televisión y Video de San Antonio de los Baños (International School of Cinema, Television and Video of San Antonio de los Baños) located in San Antonio de los Baños
San Antonio de los Baños
San Antonio de los Baños is a municipality and city in the Artemisa Province of Cuba.It is located 26 km from the city of Havana, and the Ariguanabo River runs through it. The city was founded in 1802....
near Havana, on land donated by the Cuban government and supported by the Fundación del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano, Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez is a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo throughout Latin America. He is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in...
and the Father of the New Latin American Cinema, Fernando Birri. Hundreds of young students from all over Latin America have studied direction, script, photography and edition.
The contribution of the ICAIC, which was rapidly positioned as the head of a process aiming for legitimate artistic values and expression of nationality, is not limited only to the support in producing and promoting a movement that spanned fiction, documentary and animation, but also allowed for the exhibition and spread of popular knowledge of the best of cinema from all over the world. It also created the film archives of the Cinemateca de Cuba, and took part in initiatives such as Cinemóviles, which made cinema available on the most intricate sites of the national geography.
The institution also helped developing the Cuban poster, as a mean of promoting films. It gave birth between 1969 and 1977, to the Grupo de Experimentación Sonora, which influenced Cuban music to a great extent, serving as a starting point for the movement of the Nueva Trova
Nueva trova
Nueva trova is a movement in Cuban music that emerged around 1967/68 after the Cuban Revolution of 1959, and the consequent political and social changes....
. Figures like Silvio Rodríguez
Silvio Rodríguez
Silvio Rodríguez Domínguez is a Cuban musician, and a leader of the nueva trova movement.He is considered Cuba's best known folk singer and known for his highly eloquent and symbolic lyrics. Many of his songs have become classics in Latin American music, such as Ojalá, Playa Girón, Unicornio and...
, Pablo Milanés
Pablo Milanés
Pablo Milanés Arias is a Cuban singer-songwriter and guitar player. He studied at a conservatory in Havana. He is considered one of the founders of the Cuban nueva trova, along with Silvio Rodríguez and Noel Nicola...
and Leo Brouwer
Leo Brouwer
Juan Leovigildo Brouwer Mezquida is a Cuban composer, conductor and guitarist. He is the grandson of Cuban composer Ernestina Lecuona Casado.-Biography:...
were prominent through all this process.
In 1980, Alfredo Guevara was ousted from his position as head of the ICAIC, which he had held since its formation, over controversies about the film Celia. The film, directed by Humberto Solás, was based on the 19th century Cuban novel, Cecilia Valdés. It was the most ambitious Cuban film to date and somewhat monopolized the funds available to filmmakers during its production. This, coupled with the fact that many other directors and the general public did not agree with Solás' interpretation of the film, led to the removal of Alfredo Guevara from his position.
Having won a great deal of autonomy from the central government in the 1970s, the ICAIC, under the new leadership of Julio García Espinosa, was allowed to make many films dealing with sociopolitical issues. Espinosa was able to increase the recognition of Cuban film and especially of the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema by obtaining greater funds from the government and also inviting big names such as Francis Ford Coppola, Sidney Pollack, Robert De Niro, and Jack Lemmon to the island. Despite his successes, Espinosa faced a large problem in 1991, again due to a controversial film. This film, entitled Alicia en el pueblo de Maravillas, was very critical of the bureaucracy of the government. This, combined with the simultaneous collapse of the Soviet Union, led to Espinosa's retirement.
During this time, Alfredo Guevara returned to the scene of the ICAIC in order to help it maintain its autonomy from the central government. Many of the party faithful were calling for the organization to merge with the Cuban Radio and Television Institute. Due to the loss of Cuba's largest trading partner, the Soviet Union, the future of the island country became uncertain, and criticism of the government, which the ICAIC was known for, became unpopular. Guevara managed to get the film released and allow the ICAIC to keep its independent status. He then remained president of the organization throughout the Special Period
Special Period
The Special Period in Time of Peace in Cuba was an extended period of economic crisis that began in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and, by extension, the Comecon. The economic depression of the Special Period was at its most severe in the early-to-mid 1990s before slightly declining...
until his retirement in 2000.
One of the most notable Cuban films in the recent years was Fresa y Chocolate (1993) by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío
Juan Carlos Tabío
Juan Carlos Tabío is a Cuban film director and screenwriter. His film Strawberry and Chocolate , which he co-directed with Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, won a Silver Bear - Special Jury Prize at the 44th Berlin International Film Festival, and was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign...
. It is about intolerance, and portrays the friendship between a homosexual and a young member of the Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas (a communist youth organization). It was also the first Cuban production to ever be nominated for the Oscars.
Omar González succeeded Alfredo Guevara as the head of the ICAIC and remains in that position today. It continues to directly aid in the production and distribution of films and has production offices, issues film permits, rents studios and equipment to filmmakers, and is closely involved in each stage of the film, from its inception and production, to its distribution and release.
Cinema of the Cuban diaspora
After the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Cubans who were ideologically ill at ease with the new revolutionary government made their way to the United States, where they settled in concentrated communities made up of other Cubans in South Florida, New York, and New Jersey. Unlike traditionally immigrants who chose to leave the homeland behind in search of a better way of life in a new place, most of these Cubans consider themselves exiles forced out of their homeland by political or economic circumstances. Because they continue to think of themselves as Cuban even after decades in the United States, it’s appropriate to talk about them as part of a Cuban diasporaDiaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
that links them emotionally and psychologically to the island. Over one million Cubans have left Cuba since 1959 in different waves of immigration. Among those are talented directors, technicians and actors who settled in the USA, Latin America or Europe, in search of work and creative space in the field of cinema.
Orlando Jiménez Leal, one of the best known exile filmmakers, produced El Super
El Super
El Súper is a 1979 Spanish-language comedy-drama film directed by Leon Ichaso and Orlando Jiménez Leal, based on a stage play by Iván Acosta. The film is a look at life in the U.S. from the perspective of frustrated Cuban exiles.-Plot summary:...
(1979), the first Cuban exile fictional film, directed by Jiménez Leal and his young brother-in-law, Leon Ichaso. Based on a play by Ivan Acosta, the film was broadly distributed in the U.S. and won awards at film festivals in Manheim, Biarritz and Venice. The film examines the trauma of the Cuban middle class, showing them as displaced from their former life and unable to adapt to new circumstances. It also highlights generational conflicts between Cuban-born parents and their teenage children who have been raised in the U.S. and reject tradition in favor of the American way of life. Jiménez Leal went on to make documentary films such as The Other Cuba (1983) and Improper Conduct
Improper Conduct
Mauvaise Conduite or Improper Conduct is a 1984 documentary film directed by Néstor Almendros and Orlando Jiménez Leal. The documentary interviews Cuban refugees to explore the Cuban government's imprisonment of homosexuals, political dissidents, and Jehovah's Witnesses into concentration camps...
(1984) in collaboration with Néstor Almendros. Improper Conduct is a highly controversial film that deals with the treatment of gays in Cuba. The Other Cuba is a bitter denunciation of the Revolution told from the point of view of the exiled community. The director’s strong anti-Castro stance gave voice to the growing community of Cuban political exiles in the U.S. in the 1980s.
Leon Ichaso’s best known film in the U.S. is Bitter Sugar (1996), a fictional film that strongly criticizes life in post-revolutionary Cuba. It shows the disillusionment of a young Communist and his girlfriend, who are pushed to the breaking point by a repressive society. In tone and theme, it’s similar to Jorge Ulla’s Guaguasí (1982), which had less distribution in the U.S. Guaguasí portrays a simple man from the countryside who is brutalized by his experiences with the revolutionary government in Cuba. The reactionary stance of directors like Ulla, Ichazo, Almendros and Jiménez Leal has made them the cinematic spokespersons for Cuban Americans who believe that Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
is personally responsible for negative changes that have occurred in Cuba since 1959.
An important theme in cinema of the Cuban disapora is the coming and going of people in exile, and the difficult process of adaptation to a new culture. Iván Acosta made the film Amigos (1986) to show the painful bicultural existence of Cuban-Americans living in Miami. Although it’s a low-budget film, it does an effective job of capturing the problems of the younger generation of Cuban Americans who are torn between the desire to fit in and the pressure to uphold tradition. Lejanía (1985) by Jesús Díaz is the first film to deal with the issue of Cuban exiles returning to the island for visits with relatives. Cercanía (2008) by Rolando Díaz, the brother of Jesús, shows a recent arrival from Cuba attempting to reconcile with his family in Miami after decades apart. Rather than address political themes in a direct way, these films focus on personal issues related to adaptation and culture shock. Honey for Oshún (2001) by Humberto Solás, a Cuban director who remained in Cuba, addresses the clash between Cuban Americans returning to the island and those who never left. It hints that reconciliation is possible, as long as those who return are willing to accept Cuba on its own terms and not force capitalist ideology on the Cuban people.
In Cuba, films made by Cuban-Americans or Cubans in exile are not widely distributed or well known, in part because the films deal with the Revolution in a negative light, but also because Cubans on the island dispute the notion of a Cuban diaspora and believe that those who live in exile no longer represent Cuban reality in an authentic light. They take the position that directors who experience life outside Cuba represent Cuba through a distorted lens, and that the films they make are largely works of propaganda.
Many important Cuban actors now live in exile. Among them are César Évora
César Évora
César Évora is a Cuban actor.- Biography :Évora started out his career in his native Cuba appearing in more than ten movies before moving to Mexico in the early 1990s. He became known for playing minor roles in the seminal Corazón salvaje and the long-running Agujetas de color de rosa in 1993 and...
, Anabel Leal, Reinaldo Cruz, Francisco Gattorno
Francisco Gattorno
Francisco Alejandro Gattorno Sánchez , better known in the show business world plainly as Francisco Gattorno, is a Cuban actor. He owns property in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida.-Biography:...
, Reynaldo Miravalles, Tomás Millán, William Marquez, Orestes Matacena and Isabel Moreno. Cuban American actors who were born in Cuba but grew up in the U.S. include Andy García
Andy García
Andrés Arturo García Menéndez , professionally known as Andy García, is a Cuban American actor. He became known in the late 1980s and 1990s, having appeared in several successful Hollywood films, including The Godfather: Part III, The Untouchables, Internal Affairs and When a Man Loves a Woman...
, Steven Bauer
Steven Bauer
Steven Bauer is a Cuban-American actor. He is known for his role as Manny Ribera in the 1983 film Scarface, and his role on the bilingual PBS show Que Pasa, USA.-Early life:...
, William Levy
William Levy (actor)
William Levy is a Cuban-American actor and former model.-Early life and education:Levy was born in Cojimar, Cuba. He is of Jewish ancestry on his paternal grandfather's side. Levy migrated to Miami, Florida, when he was 14. He attended high school, after which he studied business administration...
, and Tony Plana
Tony Plana
Tony Plana is a Cuban-American actor and director. He is well known for playing Betty Suarez's father, Ignacio Suarez, on the ABC show Ugly Betty.-Personal life:...
.
International co-productions
The international co-productionInternational co-production
An international co-production is a production where two or more different production companies are working together, for example in a film production...
of films has become very important for the cinema of Cuba and also for the rest of Latin America. An internationally co-produced film is one in which two or more production companies from different countries are involved, or the financing has been sourced from more than one country. Co-productions are becoming increasingly common today but even as early as 1948 were common between Cuba and Mexico.
International co-productions began to take off in the 1960s and 1970s, many with the aim of increasing political awareness and highlighting common problems in Latin American countries. Before its dissolution, the USSR also played a role of co-producing films in Cuba such as Mikhail Kalatozov
Mikhail Kalatozov
Mikhail Kalatozov born Mikheil Kalatozishvili was a Georgian/Russian film director. Born in Tiflis , he studied economics before starting his film career as an actor and later cinematographer....
’s I Am Cuba
I Am Cuba
I am Cuba is a 1964 Soviet-Cuban film directed by Mikhail Kalatozov at Mosfilm. The film was not received well by either the Russian or Cuban public and was almost completely forgotten until it was re-discovered by filmmakers in the United States thirty years later...
. The increased importance of co-produced films was inevitable due to globalization, and in the case of Cuba especially, due to a lack of economic resources. A film created with the cooperation of two or more countries nearly always guaranteed distribution in both countries, resulting in a greater audience and increased revenues. This also allowed for more exposure of regional cinemas.
Beginning as early as the 1930s Spain played a role in producing Latin American and Cuban films, but began to invest more heavily in the 1990s. In 1997 Ibermedia was created for the purpose of promoting co-production between Spain and Latin American countries. There are 14 countries involved in this organization and Cuba is one of them. Two examples of Cuban co-produced films are Humberto Solás’ Celia (Cuba/Spain) and Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío’s Academy Award-nominatedFresa y chocolate(Cuba/Mexico/Spain/USA).
There have been mixed opinions about the development of co-productions. For some it is a necessary evil. Humberto Solás states that “For established filmmakers there is not a single cent for production. We are obliged to seek co-productions. If a film is not co-produced, it will not be made.” The problem with finding foreign funding for Cuban films is that, oftentimes, the financiers want to have some amount of influence over the final product so that it can be successful in their own countries. Frequently there are also stipulations that require a certain number of cast and crew to be working on the film from each of the producing countries. For example, a Cuban film that was co-produced by Spain would require a certain number of Spanish actors, writers or directors, and production technicians. This makes it difficult for Cuban national cinema to hold on to its identity and also creates issues when determining the nationality of a film. Julio García Espinosa agrees that the benefit of co-productions is that it has allowed for films to continue being made in Cuba and Latin America, but believes that the most successful co-productions are those that exist solely between Latin American countries.
Cuba has been involved in aiding in the production of other Latin American films, but through technical assistance rather than acting as a financier. One example is Chilean Miguel Littin’s Academy Award-nominated Alsino and the Condor
Alsino and the Condor
Alsino and the Condor is a 1982 Nicaraguan film directed by Miguel Littín. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It won the Golden Medal at the Moscow International Film Festival. The film was a co-production between Nicaragua, Mexico and Cuba...
, which was shot in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
and received technical support from Cuba. Also in the late 1980s, Cuba created the Third World Film School to train students from various third world countries in the art of filmmaking.
Imperfect Cinema
Cuban cinema and Latin American films communicate many different meanings, messages, and focuses. Cuban film director Julio Garcia Espinosa was well known in 1960’s for his contributions to cinematography and culture. He was a founder of the ICAIC and the President of the Section of Cinema of the Cultural Society. The main objectives of Cuban Cinema were production, distribution, and screening films that recorded the ongoing revolutionary process from the perspectives of ordinary people. According to Davies, the films that were shot on location and featured local people were shown free of charge across the country in city cinemas and on makeshift village screens to spectators who were encouraged to participate actively in the films' reception and interpretation. In 1968-88, the most common and desired form of film used in Cuba was Imperfect Cinema.It can be acknowledged that Imperfect Cinema was creative, innovative and possessed a distinctive style that is typically a very thought provoking original work of art. Imperfect films captured the viewer’s attention because the relevance of the story line matched what the audiences were experiencing in their own lives. Imperfect cinema is a form or theme found through audiences that have struggled in life and are aware of the hard times the people were going through. Only in the person who suffers do we perceive elegance, gravity, even beauty; only in him do we recognize the possibility of authenticity, seriousness, and sincerity. Not only does imperfect cinema represent the struggles of the people it also reveals the process which has generated the problem. The subjective element is the selection of the problem, conditioned as it is by the interest of the audience-which is the subject. The objective element is showing the process-which is the object. Imperfect cinema uses the audience as the subject to show the process of the problem as the object.
Aside from indicating the demonstrative, communicative and inquisitive qualities, these characteristics also convey an implicit utilitarian quality. In other words, Imperfect Cinema possesses utilitarian features because it must perform a particular political function within society. Cubans felt included by the films which gave them a sense of importance and pride. Cuban and Latin American films were successful in the international market even though they did not always fit the hegemonic models or use mainstream film languages. Imperfect cinema is a great example of film that is accepted internationally even though it does not fit into the Hollywood genre or codes of representation.
Style for Imperfect Cinema is thus defined by the specific techniques and qualities contextualized in orthodox Marxism's aesthetics of content over form, such as the use of 'type' characters, harsh imagery made by scratches, under/over exposure, high contrast, excessive movements of the camera, presentation of historical events and the wide use of hand-held cameras. This form of film was very popular among the revolutionary people because the films were portrayed in a manner that was very easy to relate to and shared a common feeling and interest among the people that were experiencing similar situations that were occurring in Cuba at the time. The revolution provided alternatives, supplied an entirely new response, enabled the country to do away with elitist concepts and practices in art, and was the highest expression of culture because it abolished artistic culture as a fragmentary human activity.
Imperfect Cinema was responsible for making a reputation for Cuban film, but by the mid 1970s, Cuban filmmakers were purposely making a different style of cinema. Chanan, for example, concludes that by the late 1970s Imperfect Cinema had just about disappeared. He believes that since then Cuban cinema has given up the challenge of creating its own style in favor of imitating Hollywood. For Garcia Espinosa and many of his fellow Latin American filmmakers, Imperfect Cinema was the answer to the need of creating a form of art that demonstrates the process of the problems . . . not a cinema to beautifully illustrate concepts and ideas we already know. The purpose of this revolutionary form of film was derived from the revolution itself. By 1989, Cuban cinema had the formal sophistication to carry any revolutionary message, or none at all. Imperfect cinema was no longer interested in quality or technique. It can be created equally well with a Mitchell or with an 8mm camera, in a studio or in a guerrilla camp in the middle of the jungle.
Since all of these critical operations require new approaches to film directing, we cannot expect flawless results every time. Films built on the consecrated conventions of traditional cinematography are more likely to attain technical “perfection” than those necessarily “imperfect” attempts to challenge established conventions and search out new approaches. The opposite of imperfect cinema is “perfect” cinema which is basically described as films that are portrayed as perfect, flawless, and contain beautiful scenery. The majority of scenes that are shot in a “perfect” film are in a beautiful place, typically the film is not produced to make the viewer think, and they’re usually more aesthetically pleasing rather than meaningful. We maintain that imperfect cinema must above all show the process which generates the problems. It is thus the opposite of a cinema principally dedicated to celebrating results, the opposite of a self-sufficient and contemplative cinema, the opposite of a cinema which "beautifully illustrates" ideas or concepts which we already possess.
Modern authorship is established and valued mostly as a matter of output and public success. “Perfect” films are valued by critics, awards, and merchandise that are produced because of the film. Compared to “perfect” films, imperfect films focus on the art, sending a message, and creating substance. Most Latin American films can only achieve success in the international market if they emulate hegemonic models and borrow from mainstream film languages. The “perfect” films are difficult for Latin American and Cuban film makers to compete with because most viewers are interested in watching films that are visually attractive and don’t require a lot of thought while watching. It stands to reason that today’s changing circumstances of film production and consumption determine that genres cannot exist by mere repetition and recycling of past models but have to engage with difference and change. Art will not disappear into nothingness; it will disappear into everything.
Post-Cold War era
The post Cold War period is known as the “Special Period” in Cuba. During this time period the Cuban cinema industry suffered greatly (as did the Cuban citizens due to sever economic depression). This is best phrased by Elliott Young:
The state expected artists, filmmakers, and intellectuals to become economically autonomous and not rely on state subsidies; this new market orientation forced cultural producers to seek foreign financing or simply to leave the country altogether. The impact of the economic crisis hit the Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográfico (ICAIC) directly, leading to an exodus of personnel and the slowing down of production to the extent that, in 1996, the Institute did not release a single feature film
The films that were produced were no longer made solely for Cuban people, but mainly for foreign audiences. Pastor Vega states “Before one only thought about the Cuban public. Now you have to think about ‘marketing’ and ‘profits’ and all that.” However, the films that were produced for the Cuban people, tended to take a more drastic turn towards more controversial issues. One of the biggest genres that came out of this period was about homosexuality. One of the most popular movies that come out of this time period is called Fresa y Chocolate (1994, Strawberry and Chocolate). The success of this movie “can be partially explained by the way the film elicits multiple recognition from the Cuban viewer” and that it makes the viewer think/look at the film in a different light.
During this time the producers and directors had to always think about cost of production. In the past, going on long excursions to make films were the standard rather than the exception. A perfect example of a movie that was made through this time period is called Madagascar (1994), directed by Fernando Perez. Ann Marie Stock states (about the production of Madagascar):
Madagascar (1994), was made against all odds, during a time when Cuba’s state sponsored film institute was experiencing shortages of virgin film stock, fuel to transport crews and equipment, food to provide a meal to those working long days, and the hard currency necessary to edit, produce and distribute films.
The films that were lucky enough to be put into production, found them that they were being produced as close to the ICAIC (Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry) as possible, or found that the major cities (Havana, Santiago de Cuba, etc.…) became the backdrop to the plot of the movies. This allowed the directors to use ordinary citizens to be used in the movies instead of having to bring in extras for production. The director could even use to the citizens homes as a backdrop, if the owner agreed to allow the director to use it.
Directors
- Santiago ÁlvarezSantiago ÁlvarezSantiago Álvarez Román was a Cuban filmmaker. He wrote and directed many documentaries about Cuban and American culture...
- Luis Felipe Bernaza
- Fausto Canel
- Enrique Colina
- Octavio CortázarOctavio CortázarOctavio Cortázar was a Cuban film director and screenwriter. He directed twelve films between 1961 and 2005...
- Miguel CoyulaMiguel CoyulaMiguel Coyula Aquino is a Cuban filmmaker. At age 17, he made his first short with a VHS camcorder, which led to his admittance to the International Film School of San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba...
- Juan Carlos Cremata
- Rolando Díaz
- Roberto Fandiño
- Sergio GiralSergio GiralSergio Giral Sergio Giral is a renowned Black Cuban-American film writer and director, born in Havana, Cuba from an American mother and a Cuban father. He was raised in New York City, as an aspiring young painter in the days of the Beatnick generation...
- Manuel Octavio GómezManuel Octavio GómezManuel Octavio Gómez was a prolific Cuban film director and writer.-Filmography:* Historia de una batalla * Cuentos del Alhambra * Encuentro, El * Salación, La...
- Sara GómezSara Gómez-Filmography:*Plaza Vieja; El solar; Historia de la piratería; Solar habanero *Iré a Santiago *Excursión a Vueltabajo *Guanabacoa: Crónica de mi familia *.....
- Nicolás Guillén LandriánNicolás Guillén LandriánNicolás Guillén Landrián was a Cuban experimental filmmaker and painter.Guillén was an accomplished filmmaker. He made a total of 13 documentaries, although they were heavily censored and prevented from being part of the Cuban Film Industry...
- Tomás Gutiérrez AleaTomás Gutiérrez AleaTomás Gutiérrez Alea was a Cuban filmmaker. He wrote and directed more than 20 features, documentaries, and short films, which are known for his sharp insight into post-Revolutionary Cuba, and possess a delicate balance between dedication to the revolution and criticism of the social, economic,...
- Orlando J. Leal
- Eduardo Manet
- Jorge MolinaJorge MolinaJorge Molina is a Cuban film director. After studying cinema in the USSR, he graduated from the EICTV...
- Raul Molina
- Humberto PadrónHumberto PadrónHumberto Padrón is a Cuban film director.Padrón graduated from ISA in Havana. He has since directed several awards winning documentary shorts including "Y Todavia el Sueño" and "Los Zapaticos me Aprietan"...
- Juan PadrónJuan PadrónJuan Padrón is a Cuban animation director.Since 1963 he has published sketches and cartoons for Cuban magazines and newspapers. He was the creator, in 1970, of Elpidio Valdés, a cartoon character with more than sixty shorts and two feature length movies...
- Fernando PérezFernando PérezFernando Pérez Valdés is a prominent Cuban film director.Pérez graduated from the University of Havana with a degree in Language and Spanish Literature, and began working in the Cuban film industry in 1971 as an assistant director, before directing his first documentary in 1975.His feature debut...
- Enrique Pineda Barnet
- Mario Rivas
- Jorge Luis SánchezJorge Luis SánchezJorge Luis Sánchez is a Cuban film director. He was a founder of the Federación Nacional de Cine Clubes de Cuba - the Nacional Federation of Cine Clubs of Cuba....
- Humberto SolásHumberto SolásHumberto Solás was a Cuban film director, credited with directing the classic film Lucía , which explored the lives of Cuban women during different periods in Cuban history....
- Oscar Valdés
- Humberto López y GuerraHumberto López y GuerraHumberto Lopez y Guerra was born in Matanzas, Cuba, in 1945. He began his film career 1960 producing and directing a series of documentary films for the Cuban Institute of Art and Cinema, ICAIC. In 1963 he was given through election a scholarship to study film directing at the Cinema Superior...
- Ramon F. Suarez
- Juan Carlos TabíoJuan Carlos TabíoJuan Carlos Tabío is a Cuban film director and screenwriter. His film Strawberry and Chocolate , which he co-directed with Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, won a Silver Bear - Special Jury Prize at the 44th Berlin International Film Festival, and was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign...
- Miguel TorresMiguel TorresMiguel Torres may refer to:*Miguel Torres , American mixed martial artist*Miguel Angel Torres, Peruvian footballer*Miguel A. Torres, president of Bodegas Torres*Miguel Torres de Andrade, Brazilian footballer, writer, and actor...
- Pavel GiroudPavel GiroudPavel Giroud is a film director. He studied design and graduated from the Instituto Superior de Diseño ten years ago.He first worked as a designer, but for a very short period of time...
- Susana Barriga
- Pastor Vega
- Fernando Villaverde
Actors and actresses
- Adolfo Llauradó
- Anabel Leal
- Alberto Pujol
- Blanca Rosa Blanco
- Beatriz ValdésBeatriz ValdésBeatriz Valdés Fidalgo is a Cuban-Venezuelan actress.She was born in Cuba, where she studied drama and worked as an actress before she arrived to Venezuela as a guest at the Cinema Interamerican Forum in 1989...
- César ÉvoraCésar ÉvoraCésar Évora is a Cuban actor.- Biography :Évora started out his career in his native Cuba appearing in more than ten movies before moving to Mexico in the early 1990s. He became known for playing minor roles in the seminal Corazón salvaje and the long-running Agujetas de color de rosa in 1993 and...
- Mario CimarroMario CimarroMario Antonio Cimarro Paz is a Cuban actor.-Biography:Cimarro was born in Havana, Cuba to Antonio Luis Cimarro and Maria Caridad Paz. He has one sister, Maria Antonia Cimarro Paz...
- Consuelo Vidal
- Coralia Veloz
- Daisy Granados
- Enrique Molina
- Enrique Santiesteban
- Ernesto Tapia
- Eslinda Nuñez
- Eva Méndez
- Isabel Santos
- Jacqueline Arenal
- Jorge PerugorríaJorge PerugorríaJorge Perugorria was born on August 13, 1965 in Wajay, Havana. He is known as one of the most famous Cuban actors since his part as Diego in Strawberry and Chocolate Jorge Perugorria (aka Pichi) was born on August 13, 1965 in Wajay, Havana. He is known as one of the most famous Cuban actors since...
- Luis Alberto García
- Mario Balmaseda
- Miguel Santos
- Mijail MulkayMijail MulkayMijail Mulkay Bordon is a Colombian actor. In 2010, he married actress Majida Issa.- Television :*"El Clon .... Mohammed*"Los caballeros las prefieren brutas" .... Rodrigo Florez...
- Mirta Ibarra
- Patricio Wood
- Raúl Pomares
- Reinaldo Cruz
- Reinaldo Miravalles
- René de la Cruz
- Renny ArozarenaRenny ArozarenaRenny Arozarena is a Cuban actor, born in Havana in 1971.He started acting as a child, making his professional debut on the stage in leading roles in Andoba, Santa Camila de la Habana Vieja, Romeo et Juliette, Othello, among others. He is now director of a theatre group...
- Rogelio Blaín
- Rubén Breñas
- Salvador Wood
- Samuel Claxton
- Sergio Corrieri
- Silvia Planas
- Susana Pérez
- Thais Valdés
- Tito Junco
- Verónica Lynn
- Vladimir CruzVladimir CruzVladimir Cruz is a Cuban actor who has appeared in a number of feature films, television series, theatre works and shorts. He has also directed films and theatre works....
Cuban films
A list of some of the more important Cuban films produced since 1959:- Las doce sillas - The twelve chairs (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, 1962)
- Muerte de un burócrataMuerte de un burócrataLa muerte de un burócrata is a 1966 comedy film by Cuban director Tomás Gutiérrez Alea in which he pokes fun at the communist bureaucracy and red tape and how it affects the lives of the common people who have to waste time and overcome hurdles just to get on with their ordinary lives.The story...
- Death of a bureaucrat (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, 1966) - Memorias del subdesarrollo - Memories of underdevelopment (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, 1968)
- Lucía (Humberto Solás, 1969)
- El hombre de Maisinicú - The man from Maisinicú (Manuel Pérez (filmmaker), 1973)
- De cierta maneraDe Cierta Manera (film)De Cierta Manera is a 1974 Cuban romantic drama film. Directed by Sara Gómez, the film mixes documentary-style footage with a fictional story that looks at the poor neighborhoods of Havana shortly after the Cuban Revolution of 1959. The film illustrates the history before the background of the...
- One Way or Another (filming finished by Sara Gómez in 1973 before her death, technical work completed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea before its release in 1977) - La última cenaLa última cenaLa Última Cena is a 1976 Cuban historical film directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea. The film tells the story of a pious plantation owner during Cuba's Spanish colonial period. The plantation owner decides to recreate the Biblical Last Supper using twelve of the slaves working in his sugarcane fields,...
- The last supper (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, 1976) - El brigadista - The teacher (Octavio Cortázar, 1977)
- Retrato de Teresa - Portrait of Teresa (Pastor Vega, 1979)
- Los sobrevivientes - The survivors (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, 1979)
- Guardafronteras - Coastguards (Octavio Cortázar, 1980)
- "Crónica de una infamia" Miguel Torres (1982)
- Los pájaros tirándole a la escopeta - Birds shooting the shotgun (Rolando Díaz, 1982)
- Vampiros en La Habana - Vampires in Havana (Juan PadrónJuan PadrónJuan Padrón is a Cuban animation director.Since 1963 he has published sketches and cartoons for Cuban magazines and newspapers. He was the creator, in 1970, of Elpidio Valdés, a cartoon character with more than sixty shorts and two feature length movies...
, 1983) - Hasta cierto punto - Up to a certain point (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, 1983)
- Se permuta - House for swap (Juan Carlos Tabío, 1984)
- El bohío - The hut (Mario Rivas, 1985)
- De tal Pedro tal astilla (Luis Felipe Bernaza, 1985)
- Clandestinos - Clandestines (Fernando Pérez, 1987)
- Plaff - Too Afraid of Life or Splat (Juan Carlos Tabío, 1988)
- La bella del Alhambra - The beauty of the Alhambra (Enrique Pineda Barnet, 1989)
- Fresa y Chocolate - Strawberry and Chocolate (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío, 1993)
- Cubacollage (Miguel Torres, 1998)
- MadagascarMadagascar (1994 film)Madagascar is a Cuban film that marked Fernando Pérez's change of direction into a more lyrical approach to filmmaking, somehow stripped from the realistic documentary feel of his early work...
- (Fernando Pérez, 1994) - GuantanemeraGuantanamera (film)Guantanamera is a 1995 comedy film from Cuba, directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío, featuring an ensemble cast. Screenplay by Eliseo Alberto and others.-Synopsis:...
(Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío, 1995) - La Vida es SilbarLa Vida es SilbarLife Is to Whistle is an award winning, 1998 Cuban film directed by Fernando Pérez- Plot synopsis :The film tells the stories of three end-of-the millennium Cubans, whose lives intersect on the Day of Santa Barbara...
- Life is a whistle (Fernando Pérez, 1998) - Lista de Espera - The waiting list (Juan Carlos Tabío, 2000)
- Suite HabanaSuite HabanaSuite Habana is a 2003 Cuban documentary directed by Fernando Pérez.The documentary was filmed with fictional cinema techniques depicting a day in a life of thirteen real people, from a ten-year-old child with Down Syndrome to a 79-year-old lady who sells peanuts in the street.The film has no...
- Havana Suite (Fernando Pérez, 2003) - Habana BluesHabana BluesHavana Blues is a 2005 Spanish and Cuban film by Benito Zambrano, which tells the story of two young musicians in Cuba. The film revolves around their music and contains criticism of problems in Cuba such as poverty and electricity outages...
- Havana Blues (Benito ZambranoBenito ZambranoBenito Zambrano , is an awarded Spanish screenwriter and film director. His film Habana Blues was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival...
, 2005) - El BennyEl BennyEl Benny is a Cuban film released in 2006, directed and co-written by Jorge Luis Sánchez, his first feature length film. It is a fictional story based on the life of the famous Cuban musician Benny Moré...
- (Jorge Luis Sánchez, 2006) - Memorias del Desarrollo - Memories of OverdevelopmentMemories of OverdevelopmentMemories of Overdevelopment is a 2010 Cuban film. Written and directed by Miguel Coyula, the story is based on a novel by Edmundo Desnoes, also the author of the 1968 classic Memories of Underdevelopment. The film was produced by David Leitner and features Cuban actor, Ron Blair as the lead...
(Miguel Coyula, 2010)
See also
- Cinema of the world
- Havana Film FestivalHavana Film FestivalThe Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Spanish-language filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana, and in English as Festival of New Latinamerican Cinema of La Havana.The festival takes place...
- Third CinemaThird CinemaThird Cinema is a Latin American film movement that started in the 1960s-70s which decries neocolonialism, the capitalist system, and the Hollywood model of cinema as mere entertainment to make money...
- World cinemaWorld cinemaWorld cinema is a term used primarily in English language speaking countries to refer to the films and film industries of non-English speaking countries. It is therefore often used interchangeably with the term foreign film...
Further reading
- Michael Chanan, Cuban Cinema, B&T 2004, ISBN 0-8166-3424-6
- Ann Marie Stock, On Location in Cuba: Street Filmmaking during Times of Transition, UNC Press 2009, ISBN -10 0807832693
External links
- Top 10 movies from Cuba according to IMDB.com
- Cuba Cine Includes biographies of directors and actors as well as complete filmography with synopsis of each film.
- About Cuban Cinema
- Brief historical review of Cuban cinema
- Barnett's Cuban films suggestions
- Cuba Film Institute Founder looks back on 50 years by Will Weissert, AP
- LA OTRA CUBA