Arturo Santana is one of the most prolific Cuban audiovisual artists. In his 25-year-long career he has produced about 200 materials including video clips, short films, ads and documentaries.
But he doesn’t settle for this and states that there’s still a lot more for him to do. He finds himself in a new creative stage, more ambitious and complex. The shooting of his first fiction full-length film, Bailando con Margot (Dancing with Margot) will soon begin.
Video clips seem to be a sort of a springboard to shoot big. Other renowned producers like Lester Hamlet, Alfredo UretaandPavelGiroud have proven it already. Now, it is Santana’s turn. Therefore, OnCuba interviewed him about this new project and the current condition of Cuban video clips.
“This is a project I’ve been working on since 1996 incredibly. It has changed but it has not lost its essence”, Santana said.
What´s the plot in Bailando con Margot?
It all begins in Havana in 1958. A painting has been stolenfrom a rich widow’s place. A detective’s office sends one of its employees to take over the case. After hours with the widow, the reporter comes back with the thought that this is the most important story of his life.
What genre is it?
Bailando con Margotis a Neonoirfilm that lasts about 120 minutes. The story is told in first person singular and deals with memories and regret. The film looks into a woman’s past, Margot, traveling in time with a mixture of genres –melodrama, sports cinema through several boxing fights, musicals trough theatre and Margot’s dancing, and gore cinema, among other elements that do not change the original tone of the piece.
Can you comment on the structure you have planned for it?
The structure, marked by parallel editing between the quest for the past and the detective´s search for the thieves of the expensive painting stolen at Margot’s mansion, takes us to a circular ending at down on January 1st, 1959, turning the main characters into empty beings before a city that changes with the entrance of the rebels in Havana.
Bailando con Margotis based on original ideas and speculations about classic boxing stories and Havana‘s low classes from last century. These are stories, told in an ascendant manner, connected by love and tragedy, with Margot being interviewed by the attractive and skillful detective. Margot, a distinguished widow from Havana, is a woman of about 60 years old, of strong character and very beautiful when young, tries to dazzle with her stories and luxury the detective –of about 30 years old, with the looks of a handsome actor– who wants to make a win of this case and to make it to the newspapers. In the interview, between Champaign and failed kisses, the woman turns on her phonograph and takes us with the music of the time from 1915 to almost the 50’s, in the backstage of sensual boxing fighters, in the railroad, in the midst of a fight for a world title in the heavy weight category, or in the then flourishing Havana that is immersed in politics, Mafia leaders and Guaguanco and Jazz music. However, as usual among the uncertainty in a professional boxing fight and a love story that leads Margot to widowhood. Margot´s voice is heard in the past and in the present. Without her, there would be a different movie; perhaps less bright and less Noir. Bailando con Margot does not belong to sports cinema. It is sometimes in black and White. It sometimes shows bright colors, with shadows and big angles. For moments it is static like a kiss. Then, it is as fast as an Ali’s or Dempsey’s rally. It pays homage to and quotes personalities in this genre. Music: Jazz, expression of the first decades of the 20th century; Guaguanco, with the taste of the music from Havana; Danzon, the national Cuban dance with Margot never ceasing to seduce the reporter while she narrates her memories to him. And the necessary diet music, characteristic of the Noir genre.
Is there anything you would like to highlight about the film?
Bailando con Margot: I love it for its lighting and shadows… For its irony and cinematographic quotations.Because it is “Noir Cinema” in Havana´s way… An absolute show from an aesthetic position, perhaps the author´s…
If we talk about challenges what would you tell us?
In my opinion, the greatest challenge of the film is the necessary conciliation between production modes of this industry and the vision of an independent moviemaker. On the other hand, recreating the environment of different epochs –the 20’s, the 30’s and 1958- trying not to make an exact reproduction was also a challenge. It is about a postmodern revision using the possibilities of digital technologies when creating sets and locations; as well as the wardrobe, the makeup and hairdressing… I mean that arts direction is essential to make a movie visually interesting, intense and credible… God help us!
You have developed most of your work independently so, what are your expectations from shooting this film with ICAIC(Cuban Institute of Arts and Cinema)?
This film was born from an agreement between ICAIC and Villa del Cine de Venezuela. After working with the latter, they showed their interest in this movie and that’s why they are co-producers. It is a challenge mainly to achieve mutual agreement among the parts.
You are an experienced video clip producer. What´s your opinion on the clips produced today in Cuba?
I have been away from shooting video clips for a while, about eight months to be able to focus on this project. I love making video clips and I move comfortably in it but I decided to devote all my energy to this film. I don’t want to sound old-fashioned or nostalgic but I believe that from the cultural point of view the Cuban musical market is at a standstill, going round a perspective I don’t share. I work with other codes in video clips that are close to the cinema, which right now are not in use given the musical characteristics I don’t share that are dominating and the immediacy of the market. Life has allowed me to make my full-length film now and I already feel that I am in a maturing stage in my career. When I talk about this I don’t like to say the Cuban video clip because this movement answers to certain aesthetics that is beyond contexts and geography.
Foto: Susana Méndez/Cubacine
