Screen Cuba Film rediscovering the island’s filmmaking

The 2nd Screen Cuba Film (CSC) Festival is being hosted on Sunday by several packed theaters in the United Kingdom, as local moviegoers seek to rediscover the island's filmmaking.    

From March 16 through 29, the event will be offering an opportunity to get closer to Cuban culture and people through the screening of classics from the rich Cuban Cinematheque, the Cubacine website reported.

The event’s second edition is covering a wider range of cities and prestigious movie theaters in London, such as Garden Cinema, the Institute of Contemporary Arts, and the Birkbeck University, and other British locations, including Wales, Oxford, and Nottingham.

Organized by the Cuba Solidarity Campaign and the Cuban Music Fund, the festival is also raising funds for restoring and preserving Cuba’s film heritage and acquiring essential equipment for film distribution in Cuba, the Cubacine blog noted.

Such efforts have translated into the restoration of two animated short films by Cuban cartoonist Juan Padron (1947-2020), director of the iconic animated series “Elpidio Valdés,” to be screened in 2025.

CSC also features two special guests: Gladys Gonzalez, vice president of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC), and Cuban film specialist and Juan Padrón’s daughter, Silvia Padrón.

Among the works to be shown on premiere to British audiences are “Memorias del Subdesarrollo” (Memories of Underdevelopment, 1968), “El Mundo de Nelsito” (Little Nelson’s World, 2023), “La Gente del Documental” (The Documentary People, 2022), and “Una Noche con los Rolling Stones” (A Night with the Rolling Stones, 2023).

Classics such as “Clandestinos” (Clandestine, 1987), “Guantanamera” (1995), and “Retrato de Teresa” (Portrait of Teresa, 1979) will also be screened.