Cuban cinema sells out in UK
Campaign News | Saturday, 13 April 2024
Festival Coordinators Trish Meehan and Dodie Weppler report on the resounding success of Screen Cuba: Films to Change the World
Screen Cuba, the UK’s first showcase of Cuban cinema, screened at central London’s Garden Cinema for two weeks during March, came to a close amidst a chorus of congratulations. Film after film sold out, which confirms not only that there is an audience for Cuban cinema (which is rarely screened in the UK), but that Cuba’s film industry is alive and well, despite the immense difficulties it faces.
Screen Cuba, first proposed a year ago, had two aims which were both met. First, to celebrate the achievements and challenges of the Cuban people through the lenses of their filmmakers since 1959; second, to raise desperately needed funds for ICAIC, the Cuban film institute. Its success was made possible by close collaboration between the sponsors of the Festival – the Music Fund for Cuba, CSC, the Cuban embassy and ICAIC. The festival also benefited from the participation of two special guests from Havana – Tania Delgado Fernández, the Director of Havana’s International Festival of New Latin American Cinema, and Gladys González Martinez, the Vice President of ICAIC.
As the international culture war against Cuba is being stepped up, the Festival had a particular political importance. Today, every display of Cuban culture can expect to be confronted by those seeking to undermine the Revolution from outside. In December, for instance, a counter-festival to the Havana Film Festival was staged in New York. It was a pathetic attempt, but it is part of a broader concerted campaign promoted by the US to discredit the cultural gains of the Revolution.
Another goal of Screen Cuba was diversity in programming. This included classic films such as One Way or Another (1974-77) and And…we’ve Got Flavour (1967), two recently restored films by ICAIC’s first black woman director, Sara Gómez. Contemporary shorts by a new generation of filmmakers were also screened, for the first time in the UK, like the multi-director Tales of One More Day (2021) and Daniel Santoyo’s Blank (2022). The varied programme also featured a recent animated feature, Supergal (2022), directed by Ernesto Piña, and included films created by the independent sector on the island that has benefited from the ICAIC Cinema Development Fund established five years ago. This has given opportunities to a greater diversity of filmmakers, including emerging young directors.
A highlight of the Festival was the Gala Reception which was enjoyed by over 90 people, including the new Cuban Ambassador, HE Ismara Vargas Walter, as well as a number of patrons drawn mainly from the film industry – Maxine Peake, Andy de la Tour, Nick Gold, Tony Graham, Naomi Sheldon, Holly Aylett, and Jill Nicholls. In welcoming the reception guests, CSC Director Rob Miller said that the Festival was “a beautiful opportunity not only to celebrate the wonderful films but also to recognise the full breadth of Cuban cultural achievements across the arts. It comes at a time when Cuba continues to suffer under the aggressive policies of the United States and the ongoing and illegal US blockade.”
Actor Maxine Peake also spoke, addressing the need for solidarity and stating that “despite the threats and the difficulties the country faces, we can all share Cuba’s desire to ensure that cinema, culture and the arts in general are alive, and available, for everyone to participate in, and enjoy.” The Festival was also welcomed by speakers from two sponsoring trade unions: Emma Rose, President of the National Education Union, and Paul Fleming, General Secretary of Equity. Following the reception, the two film specialists from Cuba introduced the ground-breaking 1993 film Strawberry and Chocolate.
Screen Cuba reached out beyond the cinema to engage with new and young audiences. Two events hosted by Dr Janet McCabe were held at Birkbeck University for filmmaking and film-curating students and others. The first focussed on the importance of the international Havana Film Festival within Latin America and screened the documentary Havana Report (1986), followed by discussions between Michael Chanan and Holly Aylett, both Festival patrons and filmmakers who co-directed the documentary, and current festival director Tania Delgado . She explained: “the challenge then as now is trying to keep hold of our own image” given that “only 11 per cent of films shown in Latin America are actually Latin American”. At the second event Gladys González from ICAIC introduced a special screening of Sara Gómez’s One Way or Another, which was followed by an engaging discussion by students about the intersections of inequality that it explored so honestly.
Screen Cuba also took the opportunity to help ICAIC establish, or re-establish, links with the UK film industry. Meetings were arranged with specialists at the British Film Institute, the Independent Cinema Office, the Pan African Film Archive and the London Film School. These explored possibilities for future collaboration in a range of endeavours, including archival methods, the restoration of important films, training in audience development techniques, programming festivals, joining international film organisations, attracting film producers to Cuba, distribution networks for Cuban films, and exchange mini festivals.
However, funds are required to realise any of these potential projects and others designed to preserve Cuba’s cinematic heritage. To that end, Screen Cuba has established a special fund for ICAIC’s projects which is open for donations on the Music Fund for Cuba website or at bit.ly/ICAICdonate. Sales of the beautifully designed official Festival poster created by a graphic designer in Havana, as well as the Screen Cuba bag (see below), will also go towards the ICAIC fund.
If Screen Cuba is anything to go by, the future looks bright for Cuban cinema in Britain. The Festival has already stimulated further events, with April screenings of Death of a Bureaucrat in Pontypridd and Norwich and Strawberry and Chocolate in Oxford. Plans are already underway for next year’s season – if you would like to be involved please contact the CSC office.
Thanks to everyone who helped make Screen Cuba happen. Full reports and a list of sponsors can be found at www.screencuba.uk.
WHAT THE AUDIENCE SAID“I saw five films during this festival. Wonderful range of films and great introductions and Q&As. It inspired me to book a trip to Cuba!”
“I particularly enjoyed Havana Selfies, a series of vignettes, funny, absurd and romantic; also Strawberries and Chocolate, a tender portrait of the relationship between a young communist and a gay writer.”
“One can only imagine what further riches could emerge if the US blockade of Cuba were lifted.”
“I loved the idea about film festivals operating to bridge cultural gaps and offering insight into alternative views of the world.”
“I was still thinking about the many things that Strawberry and Chocolate was about days later – it has so many layers of meaning.”
“Strong emotional stories.”
“Stunning cinematography.”
