Tickets have just gone on sale for Screen Cuba: Films to Change the World which takes place at the Garden Cinema, the ICA and the Birkbeck University Cinema in London next month, with some screenings in other UK cities.
This Festival of Cuban cinema will look at the achievements and challenges of Cuban people through the lenses of their filmmakers since the 1959 Revolution, and present films rarely screened in the UK.
It includes a diverse selection of shorts, features, and documentaries with introductions and Q&A sessions featuring film specialists from Cuba.
Features includeTomás Alea’s iconic masterpiece Memories of Underdevelopment (1968), Fernando Pérez’s passionate portrayal of the 1950s underground struggle Clandestinos (1985), Pastor Vega’s groundbreaking Portrait of Teresa (1979) and Patricia Ramos’s A Night with the Rolling Stones (2023) exploring women’s lives, plus a focus on the “urgent cinema” of extraordinary documentary maker Santiago Álvarez.
Full programme and info about the festival at https://screencuba.uk
Screenings at Garden Cinema Book tickets here
Clandestinos Sun 16 March, 2.30pm
1987, Dir. Fernando Pérez. Havana 1958, young people are fighting against Batista’s tyranny in a clandestine action cell. A dramatic story of love, solidarity, and sacrifice.
Portrait of Teresa Wed 19 March, 6.30pm
1979, Dir. Pastor Vega. A crisis in a working class marriage is the focus for this drama about the changes generated by the revolution, especially the ‘double shift’ for women.
World of Nelsito Fri 21 March, 6.30pm
2023, Dir. Fernando Pérez. A surreal comedy drama exploring perception and imagination through the eyes of a disabled autistic teenager.
The People of the Documentary Sun 23 March, 2.30pm
2022, Dir. Inti Herrera. Documentary about the bridge musicians and artists can create to connect the people of Cuba and the US, despite the US blockade.
Behaviour Wed 26 March, 6.30pm
2014, Dir. Ernesto Daranas. Powerful drama about an 11-year old boy who trains illegal fighting dogs to support himself and his alcoholic mother.
A Night with the Rolling Stones Sat 29 March, 8.00pm
2023, Dir. Patricia Ramos. Rita navigates troublesome relationships with her son, mother, lover and friend, on the eve of the Havana concert in 2016.
Screenings at ICA Book tickets here
Guantanamera Tues 18 March, 6.30pm
1995, Dir. Tomás Gutiérrez Alea & Juan Carlos Tabío. A satire on life in Cuba during the ‘Special Period’, as well as a comedy road trip from one end of the island to the other.
Memories of Underdevelopment Tues 25 March, 6.30pm
1968, Dir.Tomás Gutiérrez Alea. Privileged writer Sergio ponders on his new uncertain life after his wife and family flee to the US in the early 1960s as he surveys a rapidly changing society. Iconic for its cinematic experimentation.
Accelerated Under-Development: A film in the idiom of Santiago Álvarez + shorts by Santiago Álvarez Sat 29 March, 2.30pm
A tribute to the revolutionary Cuban filmmaker Santiago Álvarez and his “urgent cinema” making innovative newsreels and documentaries from the early 1960s. Followed by three important early shorts.
Screening at Birkbeck University Cinema
Sara Gómez’ Isle of Pines Trilogy Thu 20 March, 6.30pm.
Rare screening of trilogy of social documentaries by Cuba’s first Black female director Sara Gómez, from 1968-69 including interviews with young people not in education or work.
Free entry. Priority to film students. To book email cubafilmfest@gmail.com
SCREENINGS BEYOND LONDON
Wales One World (WOW) Film Festival collaboration with Screen Cuba at Aberystwyth Arts Centre – Book tickets here
8 March 7.30pm Portrait of Teresa
2 April 2.30pm Memories of Underdevelopment
2 April 5.30pm A Night with the Rolling Stones
The Ultimate Picture Palace, Oxford Book tickets soon
23 March 3pm Memories of Underdevelopment
24 March 6pm Portrait of Teresa
Details of screenings in Nottingham and other cities coming soon.
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