Displaying items by tag: Cuba
This year the London Latin American Film Festival celebrates twenty-five years of Havana’s International TV and Film School, presenting the highlights from the past quarter century of one of the most influential of Cuban cultural institutions, alongside the best of this year's films, which reflect the changing priorities of Cuba's young filmmakers.
Alejo Carpentier y Valmont (December 26, 1904 – April 24, 1980) was a Cuban novelist, essayist, and musicologist who greatly influenced Latin American literature during its famous "boom" period. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, Carpentier grew up in Havana, Cuba; and despite his European birthplace, Carpentier strongly self-identified as Cuban throughout his life.
Cuba is the land of some of the best boxers in the world, and the Havana Boxing Academy is the boarding school where the most promising kids are trained from an early age. Their motto: "Victory is a duty." From nine years old, they are immersed in an intense routine of training, discipline and deprivation. Cristian 'The Old Man’ Martínez has the shadow of his father, Luis Felipe, Olympic medallist and Cuban boxing legend, over him. Santos ‘The Singer’ Urguelles has been boxing since his mother died; his fists are his therapy to relieve pain, and sweet pastries are his guilty pleasure. Junior 'The Dalmation" Menéndez wonders if he can be number one while showing compassion in the ring. Sons of Cuba offers a warm gaze on one of the legendary institutions of Cuba during the days when Fidel resigned.
Directed by Mikhail Kalatozov
The movie consists of four distinct short stories about the suffering of the Cuban people and their reactions, varying from passive amazement in the first, to a guerrilla march in the last. Between the stories, a female narrator (credited "The Voice Of Cuba") says such things as, "I am Cuba, the Cuba of the casinos, but also of the people."
The first story (centered on the character Maria) shows the destitute Cuban masses contrasted with the splendor in the American-run gambling casinos and prostitution in Havana. The next story is about a farmer, Pedro, burning his sugar cane when he learns he is going to lose his land to United Fruit. The third story describes the suppression of rebellious students led by a character named Enrique at Havana University (featuring one of the longest camera shots). The final part shows how Mariano, a typical farmer, ends up joining the rebels in the Sierra Maestra Mountains, ultimately leading to triumphal march into Havana to proclaim the revolution.