DIARY OF THE FILM FESTIVAL: Strawberry and Chocolate, that Classic

Thirty years ago, an essential film in Cuban filmography was released, a true classic: Strawberry and Chocolate, directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío. It was a revolutionary work, not so much because of its formal credentials (incontestable, by the way), but because of its approach.

The film brought up a thorny debate for some; for others, impossible to postpone: the relationship of a political framework with the essential freedom of the human being, expressed here above all (although not only) in sexual orientation. It was rather a cultural confrontation, which had to be determined by facing the powerful obstacles of prejudice.

David and Diego, the protagonists, are able to overcome the abysses that separated them to unite in an embrace that has become an icon of Cuban cinema.

The 44th edition of the International New Latin American Film Festival will dedicate an important theoretical segment to this film, which will include panels on its meaning. Cuba has changed a lot in these thirty years, and much can still be said about the specific contribution of this work.

A night with the Rolling Stone

The Cuban film Una noche con los Rolling Stone is presented in Acapulco theater, which competes at the New Latin American Film Festival.

Directed and written by Patricia Ramos, the film tells Rita's adventures in Havana in 2016, time before The Rolling Stone concert. She is a woman with unsolved issues, but she is hopeful that something big can happen.

The Festival in the street

The Festival is in the street. A musical tribute by national artists that includes concerts and film screenings on important streets of this capital will accompany the event.

According to statements by the president of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC), Alexis Triana, reported by Prensa Latina, this tribute to the filmography of Latin America and the Caribbean island is an initiative that was supported by the musician and producer Arnaldo Rodríguez, leader of the group Arnaldo y su Talismán, who put his company in charge of the project, which in this circumstance assumes the name Mambo Producciones en el Cine.

Triana explained that the tribute will extend to 14 Cuban provinces, the majority of the country, where until December 17, when the event ends, a selection of Corales award-winning films and Cuban classics will be screened at the highest cinema event in Havana.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff