Abecé
Diana Montero
2013
15 min
Leoneidi is a 12-year-old mother whose life is divided between parental responsibilities and childlike playfulness. In an interview with the director of this short documentary, she tells us her unusual life story.
Spotlight on Cuba
Spotlight on Cuba revisits the complex political history of Cuba. With a retrospective of the pioneering Afro-Cuban filmmaker Sara Gómez, next to a special curation of films made by students of the EICTV, the program will explore the paradoxes of our perception of Cuba as both revolutionary utopia and dystopia.
A
B
La Bonita
María del Mar Rosario
2018
18 min
From permanent make-up to Brazilian waxing: the beauty treatments that the female body is subjected to are seldom a pleasant experience, as this pointedly unvarnished short documentary shows.
D
De bateyes
Sara Gómez
1971
24 min
Short documentary in which filmmaker Sara Gómez explores the history of Cuban bateyes, simple workers’ settlements near sugarcane mills. The testimonies of the workers form the thread running through this nearly forgotten film.
De cierta manera
Sara Gómez
1974
79 min
Mutual understanding can bring about change. In a love story between two polar opposites, Cuban director Sara Gómez shows that revolution is about more than just material conditions.
La despedida
Alejandro Alonso Estrella
2014
25 min
A photogenic look at the life of a former miner still living on the premises of the mine where he spent his working life. Aware of the fact that his time is almost up, he seeks to hold on to the past.
E
El enemigo
Aldemar Matias
2014
26 min
This short student film shows the fight to control the yellow fever mosquito, that also carries dengue. Mayelín has the thankless task of handing out fines to poor residents of working-class neighborhoods in Havana where the mosquito is found.
G
Guanabacoa: Crónicas de mi familia
Sara Gómez
1966
13 min
Join Sara Gómez on a trip to Guanabacoa, a town near Havana where her father’s family come from. Her short impressions form an evocative portrait of Black middle-class life in pre- and post-revolutionary Cuba.
I
Indicios, del inscrito
Rafael Ramirez
2017
4 min
An experimental short film based on the poem Indicios, del inscrito by the Cuban poet José Kozer.
Iré a Santiago
Sara Gómez
1964
15 min
A celebratory ode to life in the port city of Santiago de Cuba. The population of mulattos and Afro Cubans offers a vibrant blend of cultural influences.
Isla del tesoro
Sara Gómez
1969
10 min
Brief impressions from the eventful history of Isla de Pinos, a former pirate base that became the breeding ground for a new generation in post-revolutionary Cuba.
Una isla para Miguel
Sara Gómez
1968
22 min
Second part of Gomez’s trilogy on Isla de Pinos, where, in the years following the Cuban Revolution, young people were prepared for lives as comrades in this fledgling Communist society. One of them is the outspoken young man Miguel.
Isla
Marcos Pimentel
2004
10 min
A short graduation film in which the director captures the island of Cuba in tranquil shots on 16mm. The camera is used as an instrument to record and retrieve memories.
M
Mi aporte
Sara Gómez
1972
33 min
Reflections on the effects of women having to go to work in 1960s’ Cuba show the impact of the fledgling revolution on daily life.
N
Los niños lobo
Otávio Almeida
2020
18 min
Two brothers playfully retell stories of their father’s war years and the national history of Cuba. The wealth of their inner world contrasts sharply with the poverty of their living conditions.
R
El árbol
Roya Eshraghi Safaifard
2015
14 min
In filming a tree growing on the fifth floor of a dilapidated building, an Iranian filmmaker in Cuba reflects on questions about rootedness. Through the tree, she enters into a conversation with her displaced father.
S
Si no puedo bailar, esta no es mi revolución
Lillah Halla
2014
16 min
Five Cubans dance in their own bedrooms to songs that sum up their lives. The music is inaudible to the viewer. Indirectly, these intimate portraits create a picture of the socioeconomic situation in Cuba.
Sobre horas extras y trabajo voluntario
Sara Gómez
1973
9 min
Castro and Che also do their part—in propaganda footage. Cuban workers are still quick to criticize the economic plans for unpaid work. A playfully edited report of the 13th Cuban trade union congress of 1973.
V
Los viejos heraldos
Luis Alejandro Yero
2018
23 min
An elderly couple leading a simple existence in the Cuban countryside
watches an old TV set that’s thrusting a new political era into their
lives.
Y
Y... tenemos sabor
Sara Gómez
1967
30 min
An affectionate celebration of Cuban music in all its rich variations, with rumba singer and songwriter Alberto Zayas explaining the origin of the traditional range of instruments—and of course plenty of irresistible music too.