The year 2019 that is about to end marked two of the most crucial events in the history of Cuban cinema. They are the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the Cuban Film Institute, on March 24; and the 100th anniversary of the birth of Santiago Álvarez on March 18, who is one of the most outstanding documentary makers.
Both anniversaries were conceived to be celebrate for the upcoming Latin-American Film Festival, on its 41st edition that will be hold in Havana from December 5 to 15. Those events have a great significance to Cuba; the Cuban Film Institute was the first cultural institution to be created after the Cuban revolution triumphed on January the first and it has been strongly linked to the Cuban revolution, and Santiago Alvarez`s work has been essential in the development of the Cuban documentary. Also, he was the founder of the Latin American ICAIC Newscast.
Iván Giroud, president of Laitn American Festival, announced that the celebration of both anniversaries are part of a complex program, as usually happens every year, and this time with screening of over 600 films in 10 Havana’s cinemas.
On December 9 will be dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Santiago Álvarez birth. There will be a panel during the morning, with participations of British filmmaker and critic Michael Chanan; the Spanish professor Luisa María Ortega; Brazilian filmmaker Amir Labaki, also founder of Itˈs All Documentary International True-Festival; and Cuban filmmaker Fernando Pérez, who will also be the panel moderator.
The same day, a cinema posters exhibition related to Santiago Alvarez´s work will be opened to the public and a book named “Santiago Álvarez: un cineasta en revolución” by Andy Muñoz Alfonso, Lianet Cruz Partea and Yobán Pelayo Legrá from Cuban Film Institute Editions will be launched at the lobby of 23 y 12 Cinema at 5:00 pm.
Subsequently, a documentary in competition named Santiago de las Américas or El ojo del Tercer Mundo, by Brazilian filmmaker Silvio Tendler, will be presented there. It is about the political panorama reflected in Santiago Alvarez documentaries, from the triumph of the Cuban Revolution to the collapse of the socialist system.
On the other hand, the tribute to the 60th anniversary of Cuban Film Institute will include the screening of the documentary Retrato de un artista siempre adolescente by filmmaker Manuel Herrera; which deals with the emergence and development of the Cuban modern movie, through the work of Julio García Espinosa, one of our most versatile intellectuals.
The Havana´s Film Festival will also pay tribute to two filmmakers for their great contribution to the development of the new Latin American movie. They are Lita Stantic from Argentina who is director, producer and screenwriter; and Manuel Pérez Paredes, who is director scriptwriter and founder of Cuban Film Institute.
Thus, the remembrance and the well-deserved tributes will mark the history of the Latin American Film Festival in Havana, an event which is also part of the history in Latin America.
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