Photo: Tahimí Martínez Toledo
Luciano Castillo is the latest recipient of the National Film Award 2026 in Cuba; but, above all, he is a man who cannot live without cinema, to which he devotes himself with dedication and discipline.
The seeds of Castillo’s interest were sown in 1963—when as an eight-year-old boy he visited a cinema for the first time: the Casablanca in his hometown of Camagüey.
They were showing a version of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ produced in the German Democratic Republic, and the spark was not only instant but lifelong: “It made such an impression on me that, from then on, I went to the children’s matinee every Sunday. And as I grew older, I never missed the screenings for ages 12 and up, then 16 and up…
“That’s how a passion was cultivated—one that remains to this day and has deepened, eventually bearing fruit in the form of books and research. Cinema has always been part of my life; I can’t imagine life without it. It is living by and for cinema.”
–I couldn’t pursue a degree in Literature or Art due to my family’s financial situation; so I enrolled at the Institute of Economics in Camagüey and graduated as a specialist in accounting. That was the profession I practiced at the Architectural Works Enterprise No. 18 in Camagüey—yet all the while, my thoughts were on cinema.
“There were no film clubs in Camagüey—nor in many other parts of the country, for that matter. However, there was a vault where 16mm films were stored; I discovered that treasure trove and founded the Glauber Rocha Film Club at the provincial library.”
From that point on, he dedicated himself to increasingly consistent work in support of cinema. He collaborated with Armando Pérez Padrón, the director of the provincial Film Centre, overseeing film clubs; he established “a very close, fraternal relationship with Héctor García Mesa—the founding director of the Cinemateca de Cuba—and collaborated with him on programming for Camagüey. Believe it or not, Héctor handled the programming for the entire country. I learned a great deal, especially the passion he instilled for film preservation.”
Even back then, Luciano was a firm believer in a maxim that stays with him to this day: watch as much cinema as possible. “I remember getting word from Havana that they were screening an important film—one that wouldn’t be shown again in Camagüey—so I’d take the train there, watch the movie, and come right back.
“When I really like a film, I watch it again and again. For instance, I travelled from Camagüey specifically to see ‘Romance of Lovers’—by Soviet director Andrei Konchalovsky—for the thirteenth time, just to transcribe the dialogue. That shows you the lengths to which a cinephile will go.”
PRESERVING MEMORY
From his hometown, Castillo moved to the San Antonio de los Baños Film and Television School to serve as director of the Information Centre, though his dream remained to work at the national Cinemateca one day.
“There, I worked on expanding the library collections, which grew to become one of the most comprehensive in Latin America. I also collaborated with many professors regarding the video materials they needed for their classes; some would even check if we had a specific film for their planned curriculum before they even arrived in Cuba.
“The school was incredibly important to me—not just for what I learned and the discipline involved, but also for the personalities I had the chance to meet and interview. It is a unique place where diverse talents from all over the world and across every discipline converge.”
When Roberto Smith—then president of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC)—asked him to lead the Cinemateca, he could hardly believe it. And although he had not intended to become a specialist, he accepted the challenge.
Up to that point, he had been a Cinematheque regular—a ‘firefly’ of the film archive: “We never missed the screenings at the Charles Chaplin cinema; they were a true school for learning about film.”
Arturo Agramonte, the Cuban film historian, was another pivotal figure in fostering that “boundless passion for cinema” and the “ardent commitment to preserving the nation’s film heritage.”
Climatic conditions, Luciano notes, significantly affect the state of the film prints. If air conditioning issues arise, 35mm film stock—which is highly sensitive to such fluctuations—suffers damage; “that is why the vaults must be constantly monitored.”
“I never tire of saying that every day a film goes unrecovered is a day lost for our cinematic heritage—which represents the country’s memory. We must keep reiterating this and appealing to the necessary authorities to forge connections that can lead to successful restorations and the recovery of lost film materials.”
He also mentions partnerships with the Cineteca di Bologna, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Hollywood, the Colombian Film Heritage Foundation, and the Lisbon Film Archive. “There are 144 titles of exceptional value that must be preserved at all costs,” he says.
Luciano has also produced a remarkable body of research, which began “out of a need for literature on cinema—especially pre-revolutionary cinema. Together with Arturo Agramonte, we dedicated ourselves to researching and writing the ‘Chronology of Cuban Cinema’ (‘Cronología del cine cubano’), a monumental four-volume work that chronicles the history of Cuban film.”
His meticulous research also yielded ‘Trains in the Night’ (‘Trenes en la noche’), a collection of essays and interviews, as well as other Cinematheque projects such as the series ‘Coordinates of Cuban Cinema’ (‘Coordenadas del cine cubano’) and ‘Logbook of Cuban Cinema’ (‘Bitácora del cine cubano’).
When he first heard the news about the National Film Award, Luciano says he thought it was a joke and didn’t pay it much attention. They had to call him again before he truly took it seriously. Since then, the outpouring of affection has been constant.
“I didn’t realize my work had such an impact. I think it’s partly due to the television programme ‘De cierta manera’ [In a Certain Way], broadcast on Cuban Television’s Educational Channel—now in collaboration with ICAIC Audiovisuals—through which many people gain access to films they had never seen before, while others rediscover an important part of the past.”
–Which films have been pivotal for you, and which would you recommend watching?
–“Of course, I have to include ‘The Last Supper’ (‘La última cena’, by Cuban director Tomas Gutierrez Alea); it possesses all the qualities needed to feature in any list of the greatest films of all time.
“I would also add several films by François Truffaut, including ‘Day for Night’ (‘La noche americana’) and ‘The 400 Blows’ (‘Los 400 golpes’). I have a preference for directors like Federico Fellini and Luis Buñuel, for instance. In general, I am deeply passionate about European cinema…There are filmmakers—Luchino Visconti being one—without whom a person’s cinematic education is incomplete.”
To this day, Luciano devotes as much time as possible to watching as much cinema as he can. “Watching a film at a Cinematheque screening is invaluable, and trying to see it multiple times is crucial for studying it. But it is also about entertainment; there are great entertaining films that are sometimes looked down upon by certain critics.
“You don’t always have the chance to see a film in its original format, but you have to try to watch it in the best format available in our country—one that comes as close as possible to the director’s original vision. I would never watch a movie on a mobile phone; that would be a betrayal of the creator.
“I never tire of recommending films,” he says.
“Cuba has always had the privilege of being a kind of beacon for cinephiles. A love for cinema runs deep in Cuba, and I am no exception. Furthermore, the Cuban public loves Cuban cinema with boundless passion. You don’t see that in other countries; they don’t have that same love for their own national cinema.”
Just as he strives to stay up-to-date with cinema—which means not only watching “contemporary works but also revisiting films that are milestones in cinema history, whether they are ones that didn’t reach Cuba when they were first released or others worth seeing again in today’s new formats”—he also insists on fostering the film club movement.
“Especially in universities and other educational institutions, because that is the ideal way to acquire cinematic knowledge, and appreciation is essential to achieving that.”
Read the original Interview from Granma in spanish
The National Film Award 2026
The 2026 National Film Award, presented by the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC), was unanimously awarded to critic, promoter, and researcher Luciano Delfín Castillo Rodríguez in March 2026.
The jury was chaired by Manuel Herrera (2022 National Film Award winner) and including Mirtha Ibarra (2025 National Film Award winner), Aramis Delgado (2023 National Theatre Award winner), Lourdes de los Santos (president of the Film, Radio, and Television Association of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba), and Aramis Acosta (an acclaimed Cuban animation film producer).
“For the first time, an extraordinary critic and tireless researcher of Cuban cinema is being recognized with the National Award. Congratulations. Wishing you all the best in your life and your work for the sake of Cuba,” stated Alexis Triana Hernández, president of ICAIC, on his X account.
Castillo is known for promoting the work of great filmmakers through television and radio, as well as by founding and fostering film clubs and general spaces dedicated to film appreciation.
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