Discoveries from Cuba World Cinema

The optimism and pride of work taken by a group of sun-drenched guajiros harvesting corn with their bare hands, is belied by the songs they sing about sadness and heartbreak.

A radio plant transmits that Havana and nearby towns have fallen. Hundreds of young people dance in a bunker and a man whispers verses from the Bible at a railway station.

Legendary rumba musician Alberto Zayas serves as a guide for this vibrant journey through Cuban musical history and culture. The short features interviews, footage of impromptu street performances, and studio recordings.

A rare independent film from Cuba, this charming and tender portrait of female friendship follows three hair-salon employees as they hit the town looking for excitement in those parts of Havana that tourists rarely see.

Animated short film from Elpidio valdés' series. Coronel Elpidio Valdés prepares to attack a spanish fort in Jutía Dulce. He recieves help from foreign friends.

The granddaughter of original El Santo producer Jorge Garcia-Besné and the archivist behind the restoration of the first two El Santo pictures travel to Havana, Cuba, to clandestinely visit the locations where the original films were made, and granddaughter Viviana realizes the trip was as much of a journey to chart her family evolution as of historical cinema exercise. Filmed almost entirely on iPhones to avoid drawing the attention of the authorities, it is also a brief portrait of a resilient population faced with a daily struggle to feed themselves under a severe embargo from the West.

A girl longs to approach the light, but her mother, a dweller in the shadows, prevents her from doing so.

Miguel and his family are preparing to emigrate from Cuba to Italy where his mother already lives. While they wait, they begin to take the first step in the life of every migrant: learning the language of the country they want to go to.

Samuel returns to his hometown to find his father significantly changed. He doesn't know what to say, his dad remains distant, the old tension increases. They start cooking lunch, until his little brother intercedes.

The silence was broken. The veil was lifted. Through the voices of courageous individuals living in Cuba, ELLOS GRITAN LIBERTAD awakens the world to the island's disturbing realities, showing us the consequences of empty promises made from a 62-year-old Revolution.

Recreate a passage from José Martí's life during the visit to New York of the Spanish dancer known as La Bella Otero, who inspired his poem "La bailarina española" (The Spanish Dancer).

Located in deep Spain at the beginning of the 20th century, the work reveals a traditional society where violence and oppression against women is exercised even by women themselves in a mimetic replica of the model imposed by patriarchal society. The presentation goes from contemporaneity to the time with the character of Bernarda and returns to the contemporaneity with that of Adela, emphasizing what we must leave in the past and the freedom that we defend for our present.

A young circus worker falls in love with his colleague and attempts to get her attention and love.

To understand the history of Cuban rum is to understand the history of Cuba itself. From belief systems to music to revolution, rum has been there, playing its part. "Cuba in a Bottle" tells its story throughout each step of the island’s history, with hand drawn animation and a diverse cast which reflects the melting pot that is Cuba’s past and present.

A close-up examination of laborers creating Cuban cigars intercut with artistic advertising labels and postures for those cigars. Silent with musical accompaniment.

It's payday and Adama, a factory worker, counts her meager salary trying to reconcile her needs with those of her family back in the village.

"Esculturas Rupestres" (Rupestrian Sculptures) was made in Jaruco Park outside of Havana. The low relief sculptures that resembled petroglyphs, were influenced by Ana Mendieta’s interest in the indigenous Taíno people of Cuba.

Cuban workers remember Che Guevara. They testify to his relationship with the workers, his good example, and his great capacity for work.

Inspired by a group of Cuban families who left their homes more than 20 years ago because their village was converted into a reservoir, submerging their homes and, along with them, their memories and personal experiences

Feature film based on Félix B. Caignet's “Chan Li Po" radio series.

A Cuban dance short, choreographed by Eduardo Rivero.

Steve Fagin’s La Cura (2024) is comprised of episodes – of tableaux. These jewel-like pieces do not add up to a plot. Even when something recurs – like the studio set that stands in for a nightclub, proudly stripped bare under the final credits – or a performer reappears in a different situation, it is not for the purposes of narrative linkage. The connections between tableaux come about in a different way: through an accumulated interweaving, threaded on music.

A documentary about the CDRs in Cuba

Caridad (Yuliet Cruz) is a Cuban playwright in exile in Valencia, Spain. She is committed to writing a play about the Cuban exodus from the island. To this end, she intends to engage in dialogue with women and men who recount their migratory experiences, during which they risked their lives. The film powerfully expresses her profound perspective on uprootedness, nostalgia, and loss.

A man seeks help to solve a problem with his car and begins to delve into a dark and mysterious neighborhood where the places and characters seem to come from another time.

A portrait of the courageous efforts of Argentine grandmothers to locate their missing grandchildren, victims of state terrorism during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Some were kidnapped, others were born in captivity. The film includes interviews with military personnel and grandchildren who were found and reunited with their families.

A commemoration of the 6th anniversary of the beginning of the Cuban revolution. 500,000 campesinos invited to celebrate the occasion pour into Havana.

A psychedelic combination of Shakespeare, rock & roll and Catholic symbolism in the shape of a Cuban ballet.

From the side of the heart, is a documentary that tries to discover the reasons, motivations and individual situations that led numerous people to participate in the Peruvian left in the 1970s, years of the military governments of Juan Velasco Alvarado and Francisco Morales Bermúdez. It is a documentary of testimony and reflection that navigates memory to try to recognize concerns and rediscover experiences ideologically decanted in the light of the years. It does not intend to collect political theses or justify past or current positions, but to testify enthusiasms, frustrations, ideals and loyalties, if the use of this last word is possible.

Papi La Amígdola, a famous reggaeton performer, wakes up in the middle of the night. Apparently, someone is trying to rob his house. Papi wants to teach the intruder a lesson, unaware that what happens next will change his life forever…

In a peaceful garden, in the middle of the night and surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the city, a woman experiences something strange.

Two homelands have I, Cuba and the night.

Documentary that portrays the life of a coal-mining town south of Havana, around 1955, prior to the triumph of the revolution.

"The Voice of Innocence" is a documentary that shows how, starting in 1959, the Cuban Revolution put into practice a comprehensive and universal policy of safeguarding the rights of the child, even under the multiple difficulties resulting from the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States more than six decades ago. Cuba is one of the main signatories of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed on 20 November 1989, when the country had already made extraordinary progress in protecting the rights of the child, in comparison to developed countries, such as the United States, which as of today hasn't yet ratified the Convention.

Based on the life of distinguished Cuban baseball player Roberto Ortiz.

A ride along the Cuban Malecón becomes a reflection on a past romantic story. The protagonist navigates through memories and different perspectives, immersed in voice messages from her friends who narrate the chaotic story. What begins seeming like an idyllic love quickly becomes tinted with mixed signals and idealization.

Daniela's voice must be fully rested before she's able to use it again. Given the adults' inability to handle the situation, her classmates see the perfect opportunity to silence her for good.

Daunted by obligation to his father, a young cuban cowboy spends his days dreaming of another life while toiling in the fields grazing his family's cows. One day while in town collecting his government food rations, he encounters his estranged sister and childhood friend, forcing them to confront long held resentments and decide which truths remain unspoken.

A woman who has been married for two decades does everything possible to save her marriage, to no avail.

Documentary about emigration between the Canary Islands and Cuba during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

A film about contemporary Cuban youth through the music and dance of Reggaeton. Despite being the most popular music in the island, it's barely heard in the official media, thriving in a truly unique underground scene and being promoted in the most ingenious ways. In the midst of a unique sociopolitical situation during a key moment in Cuban history, we discover a cultural and commercial phenomenon without equal, hand in hand with an irreverent youth that's living its own revolution.

An inspector who investigates industrial accidents writes poems, using a method he has invented himself. His creative work separates his world from that of those around him.

On 15th April 1961 the anti-revolutionary forces bombed the airports of San Antonio de los Baños, Ciudad Libertad, and Santiago de Cuba in an attempt to eliminate the Cuban air force. This incident portended an imminent invasion. On the next day, while the victims of the bombing were being buried, Fidel Castro proclaimed the state of war. On the morning of 17th April mercenaries went ashore at Bay of Pigs, and proceeded to occupy two centrally situated places: Playa Larga and Playa Girón. Meanwhile, paratroopers landed north of this area in order to control the only access roads to these two beaches, which ran through the Zapata swamp. Thus, the occupiers created a centre of force in Bay of Pigs and appointed a provisional government. They intended to take over power by fighting a war of attrition, with the aid of the U.S.

A woman's journey on an imaginary motorcycle and her encounter with a necklace collector.

A story about teenagers, their parents and teachers, the conflicts that can arise in today's Cuban society, and their solutions. The film tells the story of Matilde and Isabel, two young girls in ninth grade in the Cuban capital, who become close friends despite their differences in education, social behavior, and personality.

Childcare centers and their importance in child development.

Animated short film from Elpidio Valdés' series. The General orders Coronel Elpidio Valdés to take a Spanish fort. Then he asks Corneta for help.

A documentary vignette explores the life of Revolutionary feminist and filmmaker Magda Gonzalez Grau, capturing a pivotal interview moment that reveals her evolving feminist politics during the Cuban Revolution.

In Havana, in a Wi-Fi park, four young people alienated from everyday life surf the virtual world through their profiles; but they will come into conflict with the reality that surrounds them and with the image they want to project to others.