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offtheygo

    Why do you wear that Che Guevara t-shirt?
Ernesto Che Guevara was born in Argentina in 1928. After fighting alongside Fidel Castro in the 3-year guerilla war in Cuba, he became Minister for Industry following the victory of the Cuban Revolution. In 1966 he established a guerilla base in Bolivia. Che was captured and killed in 1967.


Even the most overtly political of the documentaries present material with an edge of humour. There is a long tradition of irony, a certain type of satire, and black humour, with Gutiérrez Alea's work at the forefront, beginning with Las doce sillas (The Twelve Chairs, 1962) and La muerte de un burócrata (The Death of a Bureaucrat, 1966), it was reaffirmed in Los sobrevivientes (The Survivors, 1978). This caustic humour would re-emerge in Strawberry and Chocolate and Guántanamera. Afro-Cuban directors such as Sara Gómez and Sergio Giral made films in the 1970s that worked with themes of social marginalization, machismo, black history and its contemporary reality. The new generation, many of whom joined efforts on La mujer transparente, have taken up the challenge with new stylistic force.

Cuban audiences have been moved to laughter and tears, debate and celebration, by dramas and documentaries directed by the men and women represented here.

film reel


Creativity  under communism
CUBAN FILM AND FILMMAKERS

Although cinema arrived at Cuba at the beginning of the 20th century and the island arrived early to the television phenomena and cinematographic production, before the triumph of the Cuban Revolution around 80 full-length films were produced, most of them were melodramas which did not say much about the reality of the country.

IT'S NOT SO DIFFERENT THERE... De Cierta Manera Than here.

De Cierta Manera (One Way or Another) is a 1974 feature film from Cuba, in Spanish with English subtitles. Sara Gómez directed this cinematic mix of documentary and fiction that looks at the marginal neighborhoods of Havana shortly after the Cuban Revolution of 1959. Gómez completed work on the film with Mario Balmaseda and Yolanda Cuellar just before her death.

The film illustrates the history before the background of the development process in Cuba. It demonstrates how tearing down slums and building modern settlements does not change the thoughts and behavior of the inhabitants, even over time. Yolanda, a female teacher, cannot find the best methods to teach the marginalized children of the slums because of their different origin. Mario, a worker in a bus factory and a typical macho man, is confronted by Yolanda's instinct for emancipation. The two nonetheless become involved. Their relationship portrays the idea that racism, sexism, and class-based prejudices must be demolished in order to succeed. The film does not contain action in the traditional sense--but it portrays, through an unusual mixture of documentary film modules and fiction, the conflicts in Cuban society that remain unsolved today.

As De Cierta Manera reveals, Gómez was a revolutionary filmmaker with intersecting concerns: the Afro-Cuban community and the value of its cultural traditions, women's issues, the treatment of marginalized sectors of society, and the role of family within the context of the revolution and workers' rights. For its time, the film was extremely [radical]] both in form and content. Hence, Sara Gómez remains one of the most significant filmmakers from Latin America.




i am Cuba

 The Cuban revolution is at the center of Mikhail Kalatazov's strange,
poetic film from 1964 which unites four stories.  Originally controversial
because of a uniquely Russian view of Cuba, it was not widely seen. In the
years since its original release, the film, which features a poem by Yevgeni
Yevtushenko,has achieved international critical acclaim.   It offers a uniquely
earthy view of Cuba in the early 1960's.         
 IamCuba


           StrawberryandChocolate

Strawberry & Chocolate

 A sensation from Cuba in which a chance encounter over ice cream between a
middle-aged gay man and a young, fervent believer in contemporary Cuban
Marxism sets the stage for a funny but seriousfilm about difference and acceptance.
Their friendship develops despite official intolerance of homosexuality and it soon
withstands that short-sighted policy.

Cuban film:  Making an effort to teach tolerance and                                                     acceptance amidst controversy.


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