Cuban iconic cinema reopens its doors with a tribute to Fidel Castro

 To celebrate the 98th and 65th anniversaries of the birth of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz and the founding of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (Icaic by its Spanish acronym), respectively, the Charles Chaplin cinema in Havana reopened its doors on Thursday, with the presentation of the documentaries "Moments with Fidel" and "In the Name of Hope".

About “Moments with Fidel”, produced by Icaic, Rebeca Chavez, its director, said that with the current view it seems that everything was born in the 60's, after the triumph of the Revolution, a moment lived by many Cubans with great intensity.

Chavez described what happened after January 1, 1959 as a hurricane that involved the people 24 hours a day and at the center of this kind of phenomenon was Fidel, who gave it a special touch.

The filmmaker explained that “Moments with Fidel” is the seventh chapter of the audiovisual series Cuba: Roads of Revolution, made along with Manuel Perez and Daniel Diaz Torres around 2002.

Regarding “In the Name of Hope”, Elier Ramirez, researcher at the Fidel Castro Ruz Center, pointed out that it is a material produced by that institution, not only to pay tribute to Icaic in its 65 years of existence, but also to remember that also in 1959 the historic leader visited Washington D.C., capital of the United States.

The Commander-in-Chief visited the epicenter from where manipulations and misrepresentations about the Cuban Revolution were woven, to which he responded with Operation Truth.
The work reflects Fidel visiting several U.S. cities, universities and being interviewed by hundreds of journalists in search of provocations, as well as his eagerness for dialogue for the reestablishment of relations between the two countries, Ramirez commented.

During the reopening of the Chaplin cinema, actor Vladimir Cruz, star of notable Cuban films, received from the hands of Alpidio Alonso, Minister of Culture, the Alejo Carpentier Medal and the Distinction for National Culture.
Icaic's 65th anniversary seal was awarded to important personalities of the world of cinema, such as actors Patricio Wood, Mario Limonta, Alden Knight, Jorge Martinez, filmmakers Alejandro Gil, Arturo Santana and Miriam Talavera, and Sara Vega, a specialist at the Cinemateca de Cuba, as well as other distinguished Icaic employees.

The Charles Chaplin Cinema was opened on July 20, 1983 as a tribute to the illustrious British actor and director and the facility has hosted the premiere of Cuban and foreign films, as well as the ceremonies of the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema.