Vitry-sur-Seine Mayor Pierre Bell-Lloch on Sunday highlighted the first Cuban Film Festival in this Paris Region community, which he considered an opportunity to get closer to Cuba and its people.

We are pleased to host this event from June 17 to 24 because promoting dialogue and cooperation among peoples, cinema, and the arts in general, and sharing emotions and everyday life are essential for us, Bell-Lloch told Prensa Latina.

The opening ceremony marked the beginning of the Festival, a popular event with Cuban music as a protagonist and the screening of the film “El Benny” (Benny). The event is co-organized by the Cuba Cooperation France Association (CubaCoop) and authorities from Vitry-sur-Seine, with a population of nearly 100,000 people.

Bell-Lloch said the Film Festival is also a show of solidarity with Cuba, which has been suffering from an economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States for more than 60 years.

In addition to Bell-Lloch, Cuban Ambassador to France Otto Vaillant, CubaCoop First Vice-President Miguel Quintero, and renowned Cuban poet Nancy Morejon, who inaugurated the event as the honorary president, also attended the opening of the Festival on Saturday.

During the event, the public could enjoy feature films such as “El Benny,” which shows passages from the life of famous singer Benny More; the award-winning movie “Fresa y Chocolate” (Strawberries and Chocolate); “El Mayor” (The Major), a film inspired by independence hero Ignacio Agramonte; the social drama “Conducta” (Behavior); and the comedies “Esther en alguna parte” (Esther Somewhere) and “Boccaccerías Habaneras” (Havana’s Boccaccio).