Díaz-Canel congratulates ICAIC on its 65th anniversary

President Miguel Díaz-Canel congratulated the creators, technicians, and workers of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC) on the 65th anniversary of that institution on Sunday.

On his X profile, Díaz-Canel emphasized that the ICAIC is the first cultural institution of the Cuban Revolution, “which has been and continues to be the promoter and guardian of the best of Latin American and world cinema.”

As part of the celebrations, the ICAIC is holding the Fest of Cuban Cinema campaign, which consists of the premieres of 67 national productions, including films, documentaries, and animation, and the screening of 40 other films, 22 of which have been restored.

As part of the celebrations, on March 21, several awards were granted to the institution’s founders and prominent figures linked to the national film.

The Lázaro Peña Order in its Third Degree, granted by the Council of State, was awarded to actress Eslinda Núñez, National Film Award winner, while the Jesús Menéndez Medal was given to Dolores Calviño, Isabel Santos, Lisette Vila, and Víctor Domínguez for their outstanding work.

The founding of ICAIC concreted the desire to create a national film industry and prepared and consolidated the work of professionals in the sector, including Julio García Espinosa, Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Santiago Alvarez, among other prominent filmmakers.

The ICAIC catalog contains some of the most successful films in the history of Cuban cinema, some of which have been included in international lists of the 20th century’s best films.