During a meeting with journalists at the Icaic Cinematographic Cultural Center, Smith said Napolas was chosen among some twenty candidates.
Napoles' thick professional record started in 1960 as assistant camera man, and for three decades he made over 1,000 Icaic Latin American Newsreels along with late director Santiago Alvarez, including "Cerro Pelado" (1962), "Ciclon" (1963), "Hanoi, Martes 13" (1963), among others.
Rogelio París, Enrique Colina, Ernesto Daranas, Gerardo Chijona, Raúl Rodríguez, Salvador Wood, Mirtha Ibarra, Adela Legrá, Isabel Santos, Jorge Perugorría, Sergio Vitier, Edesio Alejandro and Senel Paz were among candidates for the prize, too.
Napoles' stamp is present in the documentary "Viaje a un pais que ya no existe" (2014) by Cuban actress and director Isabel Santos, who compares the reality seen by Napoles in Vietnam during the 60s with the current situation in that Asian country.
Born in Havana in 1932, Napoles, the artist, became a teacher who shares his knowledge with young filmmakers.
Since year 2003, the National Cinema Award is given to a live filmmaker resident in Cuba, whose work has contributed to the development of the country's cinema and culture.
Founded on March 24, 1959, ICAIC is the nation's cinema authority and main feature films documentary and cartoon producing entity.
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