The documentary Hay un grupo que dice…, by Cuban producer Lourdes Prieto, was the opening piece of the film festival being held in Mexico dedicated to the Cuban filmography.
Hay un grupo que dice…, was shot last year and deals with the Group of Sonorous Experimentation of the Cuban Film Institute (ICAIC by its acronym in Spanish). It started, at the National Mexican Cineteca, a movie tour that will screen some of the latest Cuban productions, which will favor the cultural rapprochement between Mexico and Cuba.
The sample includes eight full-length films that, in the opinion of ICAIC’s producers and directors, comprise the best Cuban films during the last three or four years. Some of those films are: Habanastation (2011) and La película de Ana (2012).
The Cuban actress Mirtha Ibarra, one of the participants in this event, commented that nowadays many young Cubans produce unprejudiced and innovative pieces, some of which have become landmarks given the critic topics they tackle thoroughly.
She also noted that even though the national cinematographic production has decreased, these producers are making the most of the potential of technologies in order to come up with high quality works with scarce resources.
Ibarra mentioned that Melaza (2012), which will put an end to the festival next July 31, is an example of the results of such hard efforts. The festival will also screen Esther en alguna parte (2012), Y sin embargo (2012), Casa vieja (2010) and El premio flaco (2009).
The Cuban Film Festival in Mexico aims at regaining the presence of Cuban pieces in local movie theaters in Mexico, considering they have always been welcomed by the audience of that nation, as stated by the organizers of the event.
Cuba writer Senel Paz commented that this initiative can be an opportunity for boosting stronger cinematographic collaboration between both countries, by reviving the historical link with the Mexican audience.
In parallel to those proposals, last Friday Mexico opened a retrospective on Cuban director Tomas Gutierrez Alea, made up mostly by all fiction films and documentaries by one of the greatest Cuban producers.
