News

Utama wins first awards for a Bolivian film.

In a one-two for Amazon’s original film and TV businesses Santiago Mitre’s courtroom drama Argentina, 1985 took five top honours at the 2023 Platino Awards on Saturday night (April 22), while News Of a Kidnapping from Andrés Wood and Rodrigo García claimed four.

Amazon Studios’ Argentina, 1985 won best Ibero-American fiction film, best actor for Ricardo Darín, best screenplay for co-writers Mitre and Mariano Llinas, best art direction, and film & education in values awards.

Satuday’s triumph here at Madrid’s Ifema Municipal Palace follows Oscar and Bafta nominations and the Goya for best Iberoamerican film.

Utama wins first awards for a Bolivian film.

Santiago Mitre’s courtroom drama Argentina, 1985 from Amazon Studios took five top honours at the 2023 Platino Awards at Madrid’s Ifema Municipal Palace on Saturday night (April 22), while stablemate Prime Video’s News Of a Kidnapping from Andrés Wood and Rodrigo García claimed four.

Oscar- and Bafta-nominated Argentina, 1985 premiered in Competition at Venice last year and added to an awards haul that also earned recognition at the Goya awards, among others.

Mitre’s latest film won best Ibero-American fiction film, best actor for Ricardo Darín, best screenplay co-written by Mitre and Mariano Llinas,...

Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beasts” (Spain), Lilo and Camilo Vilaplana’s “Plantadas” (U.S.), Hansel Porras Garcia’s “Febrero”, Chandler Levack’s “I Like Movies” (Canada) and Pavel Giroud’s “The Padilla Affair” were among the winners at the 40th edition of Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival, which ran March 3-12.

“The Beasts,” won the festival’s top awards, including the top jury prize, the $25,000 Knight Marimbas trophy and the Rene Rodriguez Critics nod. In addition to the two awards, “The Beasts” composer, Oliver Arson was recognized for his soundtrack and awarded the Alacran Music in Film Award, he was selected by Art of Light (Composer) Award honoree Nicholas Britell.

“Febrero” and “Plantadas” both were awarded $45,000 for the ​​Knight Made in Mia Film Award after the two made their world premieres.

In addition “Plantadas” received the Audience Feature Film Award, while Aitch Alberto’s “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe...

A truncated Panama Int’l Film Festival (Iff Panama) wrapped Dec. 4 on a high note, with the debut doc-feature “Nación de Titanes” by Panamanian Joaquín Horna Sosa snagging the Audience Award, a good indication of its box office potential.

One of only four Panamanian features in competition, “Nación de Titanes” follows six wrestlers during Panama’s golden age of wrestling during the ‘60s through the ‘80s. Doc-feature stars wrestlers Sandokan, Ricardo Díaz, El Greco, El Titán, Cronox II and Johnny González as it chronicles the ups and downs of their respective careers and digs into the origins of the sport.

The three-day festival had encouraging news from Culture Minister Giselle Gonzalez and Panama City Deputy Mayor Judy Meana who both pledged their continued support for the festival.

Pituka Ortega Heilbron, chair of the festival board and foundation, noted that the festival was operating at a fraction of its normal size...

The 70th San Sebastian rounded its final bend with new deals announced for Spain by A Contracorriente, Bteam and Avalon, joy among industry players at a first full on site festival, blessed by early autumn sunshine, a sense of an even slower international sales business.

Equally, Spain’s market and production sector remain on ebullient, buoyed by art-house breakouts and a vibrant drama series production. Five takeaways from this year’s San Sebastian Festival, which wraps tomorrow, Sept. 24:

San Sebastian Grows (Again)

“There are markets that have improved during Covid-19, and others that haven’t and San Sebastian is a festival that’s improved thanks to its industry activities,” says Film Factory’s Vicente Canales. That build comes from afar, with a Films in Progress strand in 2002, an Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum from 2012, the Ikusmira Berriak development residency from 2017 and now a Creative Investors Conference.

There’s a form of cross collaterization here.

The Rome Film Festival has unveiled its first line-up under the new management team of former Rai executive Paola Malanga as artistic director and Cineteca di Bologna director Gian Luca Farinelli as president, who were both appointed to their roles last March.

“Putting together a festival in five months was a big challenge. If we succeeded it’s thanks to the extraordinary team and the institutions,” Farinelli said at a news conference in Rome on Thursday.

The festival’s 17th edition, October 13-23, will host 130 titles on 28 screens across the Italian capital.

Highlights include a career tribute for James Ivory and the launch of an international competition strand under the banner “Progressive Cinema – Visions Of Tomorrow’s World”, showcasing 16 new films.

“We tried to bring recognition to the festival on the international scene… guided by a simple polar star. The festival is not Cannes, Venice or Berlin. So what is it?...

It is the first edition under artistic director Paola Malanga.

Paola Malanga, the new artistic director of the Rome Film Festival has unveiled the line-up for the 2022 edition, taking place from October 13-23.

The international competition will showcase 16 titles including Lila Neugebauer’s Causeway, starring Jennifer Lawrence, Mounia Meddour’s Houria and Firam Khoury’s Alam and Wang Xiaoshuai’s The Hotel.

Francesca Archibugi’s The Hummingbird, starring Pierfrancesco Favino, Bérénice Bejo, Nanni Moretti and Laura Morante will open the festival out of competition, fresh from its world premiere at Toronto and just ahead of its Italian release on October...

The 17th annual Rome Film Festival will fete James Ivory with a career honor, a mini retrospective and the Italian launch of the Oscar-winning filmmaker’s personal new documentary “A Cooler Climate.”

Ivory is expected in Rome to receive the award and present the doc about his life as a traveler that takes its cue from boxes of film the director shot during a life-changing trip to Afghanistan in 1960. The film premieres beforehand at the New York Film Festival.

Rome’s Ivory mini-retrospective will comprise his films “Maurice”; “Mr. and Mrs. Bridge,” starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward; “The Remains of the Day”; and “A Room With a View.”

The Rome fest – which has undergone a management change and is now headed by former Rai Cinema executive Paola Malanga as artistic director and Gian Luca Farinelli as president – on Thursday unveiled a mixed bag lineup comprising a competitive section largely made up of first works,...

Sandro Fiorin’s Figa Films has snapped up international sales rights to Pavel Giroud’s “El Caso Padilla,” which, selected for the San Sebastian highly competitive Horizontes Latinos, bids fair to become one of the most notable Latin American doc features of 2022.

Variety has also shared in exclusivity a first trailer to the film.

The follow-up to Giroud admired 2015 fiction film “El Acompañante,” which won San Sebastian’s Co-Production Forum, “El Caso Padilla” turns on the so-called Padilla Affair. That climaxed with arrest on March 30, 1971 of Heberto Padilla, one of the most exquisite and trenchant of modern Cuban poets whose 1968 poetry collection “Fuera de Juego” constituted a scathing attack on the lack of liberties in Fidel Castro’s Cuba.

Padilla’s arrest signalled the end of a honeymoon between Europe’s left and Castro’s revolution, prompting a letter published in Le Monde – signed by Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir,...

Manuela Martelli’s 1976 and documentary My Imaginary Country, both Chilean titles, are among the line-up

Manuela Martelli’s 1976 and documentary My Imaginary Country, both Chilean titles, are among the 12 films selected for the Horizontes Latinos section of the 70th edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival (September 16-24).

Scroll down for full line-up

Martelli’s drama premiered in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight selection earlier this year and recently picked up the best first feature film award at Jerusalem. The film follows a middle-class woman re-evaluating her beliefs when she’s asked to secretly take care of an injured man. Luxbox are handling sales.

By Jose Solis.

Cuba’s Oscar entry The Companion, will surely be seen with new eyes with the recent death of Fidel Castro, as more stories about his decades long regime will come to the surface. Directed by Pavel Giroud, the film is set in a sanatorium in the outskirts of Havana, where HIV positive people were sent to live in the 1980s in an effort of the government to try and contain the epidemic. Each of the patients was assigned a companion, who would report on their behaviors and habits (no smoking or drinking allowed!), one of them is former boxer Horacio (Latin Grammy winner Yotuel Romero) who seeks another chance at glory, while he has to look after the rebellious Daniel (Armando Miguel). The two men develop an unlikely friendship which helps as the channel through which we see other subplots unfold, all of which contribute to helping...

Fidel Castro (Courtesy: Jorge Rey/Getty Images)

By: Carson Blackwelder

Managing Editor

No matter how you felt or reacted when you heard the news, Fidel Castro’s death on November 25 shook the world. There’s no argument that the late Cuban leader definitely left a legacy, but what was the state of the film industry throughout his reign — and where does it go from here?

Castro was a controversial and revolutionary ruler who served as Prime Minister from 1959 to 1976 as well as President from 1976 to 2006 and turned Cuba into a one-party socialist state. Siding mostly with Russia (previously the Soviet Union), he largely opposed the U.S. throughout his dominion. In 2006, health issues forced Castro to hand over control of the country to his younger brother, Raúl. Raúl is the last surviving Castro brother as the eldest, Ramón, passed away earlier in 2016. Now, Castro has been cremated with little details about his death known.

Academy Award Submission for Nomination Best Foreign Language Film: Cuba: ‘The Companion’ Interview with Pavel Giroud1988, Cuba, those infected with HIV or suffering from AIDS were given free room, board and medical treatment at a beautiful facility called “Los Cocos”. Except for the criminals who shared prison cells, the patients shared apartments with other patients. These apartments were so comfortable that some healthy people wanted to have AIDS so they could live in such conditions. But the patients were also treated as prisoners, living under military guard. One day a week they were allowed a day of freedom when they could leave the facility, but they had to have a companion assigned to be with them at all times.

“The Companion”/ “El acompañante” is a very Cuban film because the government’s treatment and control over the spread of AIDS was very particular to Cuba. The story is based on...

Yesterday afternoon, the long list of countries submitting films for contention in Best Foreign Language Feature at the Oscars was revealed. With 85 movies in play, this is a record breaking group. Honestly, from what I could see, only three snubs seemed to be here, which was Belgium not choosing The Unknown Girl, Korea not choosing The Handmaiden, and Romania not choosing Graduation. Aside from those, all of the expected suspects are here for consideration. That gives us the first bit of information in trying to narrow down what will be nominated. My predictions will have to be updated (look for that either at the end of this week or next week), but that will be taken care of. For now, we just know the players. What you’ll see below are more contenders than ever before. Among the higher profile titles are Canada’s It’s Only the End of the World from Xavier Dolan,...

Eighty-five countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 89th Academy Awards. Yemen is a first-time entrant.

The 2016 submissions are:

Albania, “Chromium,” Bujar Alimani, director;

Algeria, “The Well,” Lotfi Bouchouchi, director;

Argentina, “The Distinguished Citizen,” Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat, directors;

Australia, “Tanna,” Bentley Dean, Martin Butler, directors;

Austria, “Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe,” Maria Schrader, director;

Bangladesh, “link=tt5510934 auto]The Unnamed[/link],” Tauquir Ahmed, director;

Belgium, “The Ardennes,” Robin Pront, director;

Bolivia, “Sealed Cargo,” Julia Vargas Weise, director;

Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Death in Sarajevo,” Danis Tanovic, director;

Brazil, “Little Secret,” David Schurmann, director;

Bulgaria, “Losers,” Ivaylo Hristov, director;

Cambodia, “Before the Fall,” Ian White, director;

Canada, “It’s Only the End of the World,” Xavier Dolan, director;

Chile, “Neruda,” Pablo Larraín, director;

China, “Xuan Zang,” Huo Jianqi, director;

Colombia, “Alias Maria,” José Luis Rugeles, director;

Costa Rica, “About Us,” Hernán Jiménez, director;

Croatia, “On the Other Side,...

Eighty-five countries have submitted a film for consideration in the 60th anniversary year of the foreign language film category.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Science said on Tuesday that this season also marks the first time Yemen has submitted a film, Khadija Al-Salami’s I Am Nojoom, Age 10 And Divorced.

The 89th Oscars will take place on February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood. László Nemes’ Hungarian entry Son Of Saul won the award last February.

Foreign-language Academy Award Submissions

(Country, Title, director)

Albania, Chromium, dir Bujar Alimani;

Algeria, The Well, Lotfi Bouchouchi;

Argentina, The Distinguished Citizen, Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat;

Australia, Tanna, Bentley Dean, Martin Butler;

Austria, Stefan Zweig: Farewell To Europe, Maria Schrader;

Bangladesh, The Unnamed, Tauquir Ahmed;

Belgium, The Ardennes, Robin Pront;

Bolivia, Sealed Cargo, Julia Vargas Weise;

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Death In Sarajevo, Danis Tanovic;

Brazil, Little Secret, David Schurmann.

Bulgaria, Losers, [link...

The Winners of Trinidad + Tobago Film Festival 2016

“Before The Rooster Crows” (“Antes que cante el gallo”) (trailer here) of Puerto Rico won top prize for Best Feature Narrative, and “The Cutlass” from Trinidad + Tobago won People’s Choice Award for Best Feature Narrative. Port of Spain, Trinidad was the place where the ttff awards prizes were granted Tuesday 27 September.

Watch the ttff trailer here.

People’S Choice Awards

TT$5,000 each / Sponsored by Flow

Best Feature Film — Narrative: “The Cutlass” — Darisha Beresford

Best Feature Film–Documentary: “Landfill Harmonic” — Brad Allgood + Graham Townsley...

In its mission to be a platform for the development of projects in Central America and the Caribbean, First Look/ Primer Mirada of the Industry Section of Iff Panama grants aid for the completion of feature films are in post-production to increase their visibility in the international film market.

Alliance with Cannes

First Look has Us$ 15,000.00 from private funds to support the completion of productions. Thanks to the alliance between Panama Iff and Cannes, the winning film will be screened at the Marché du Film de Cannes - one of the most important film markets in the world. The winner will also receive an accreditation to the Cannes Film Festival plus travel and accommodations.

The winner will also receive the official poster design by Boogieman Media . A creative team that made the posters of acclaimed films as “The Clan” and “Wild Tales”. In addition, the production teams of the five pre-selected projects will receive advice on the graphic image of their respective films. This consultancy will be conducted by Leandro Mark, the director of Memorial Map, and Max Saad .

In addition to economic aid to the winner, all selected projects will be shown in private sessions for industry distributors, representatives of other film festivals and sales agents. The directors and producers of the projects will answer questions and receive suggestions from members of the international film industry, in order to enrich their projects in this final stage.

The international jury will be responsible for deciding the winner of works-in-progress. The jury, composed of specialists from Latin American cinema who share Iff Panama’s mission to support the growing film industry in the region include the director of the Film Festival in Havana, Ivan Giroud the uncle of Pavel Giroud, who is participating in Iff Panama with his film “The Companion”; Canadian Jaie Laplante who is the director of the Miami Film Festival; and Yissel Ibarra of the Mexican Film Institute (Imcine).

This year, First Look received 46 nominations for movies in progress. The five films chosen for competition are:

”Hold Me Like Before”/ “Abrazame como antes”, 70 min. (Costa Rica, 2016)

Director: Jurgen Ureña

Producer: Gustavo Sanchez Cubero

Veronica is a transgender prostitute on the streets of San Jose. One night, a car of her client strikes an enigmatic teenager known as Tato. Impulsively, Veronica decides to take the boy to her apartment for shelter and food. The next day, misunderstanding of the motives behind the actions of his hostess, Tato plans to escape. A relationship of identification, solidarity and tension initially arise between Veronica and Tato but they are affected soon by Veronica friends.

"Jeffrey," 80 min. (Dominican Republic, 2016)

Director - Producer: Yanillys Pérez

Despite his difficult life, 12-year-old Jeffrey, a Dominican windshield wiper, dreams of being a reggaeton singer. This dream helps him escape the harsh reality of his adult life full of responsibility. He writes songs with his older brother Jeyson, 18, about his life, his neighborhood and society they perceive. Guided by Jeffrey, they deal with their daily lives, their broken family while they dance reggaeton and dembow.

“Play the Devil,” 92 min. (Trinidad and Tobago, 2016)

Director: Maria Govan

Producer: Abigail Hadeed

Set in the exquisite landscape of Trinidad at the time of Carnival, Gregory, a black working class youth of 18 acts in a local theater where he is discovered by businessman James Young, who is immediately attracted by Gregory and seeks all means to approach him. Carnival arrives on Monday, young men cover their bodies with blue paint and dressed as devils, they descend into the valley, where howls and drums that are lost in the carnal dance are heard. This is the scene of a fatal showdown that will change their lives forever.

“Play the Devil” was first presented as a pitch last year at the inaugural Trinidad + Tobago Film Festival’s Industry Days.

"Noelí Overseas," 65 min. (Dominican Republic, 2016)

Director: Laura Amelia Guzmán

In attendance: Actress Desiree Reyes

The dream of many Dominican women is to go to Europe, as in the case of Noelí and her mother. Noelí is an actress and is hired to film a movie in Venice, while her mother does domestic work in Spain. After filming, Noelí visits her mother whom she has not seen for 10 years; nostalgia and desire to return to the island are just below the surface of their meeting.

“Sultán,” 95 min. (Panama, 2016)

Director: Enrique Castro Rios

Producer: María Neyla Santamaría

Ten years after the brief but brutal 1989 U.S. military invasion of Panama, three survivors, a boy, his mother and grandmother, share an uncomfortably intimate reconciliation guided by the ghost of one person who lost the most on that pitiless night.

Variety’s exclusive reportage in 2015 quoted Castro Rios explaining how the film touches on race relations and segregation in Panama and within families. In the film, the grandmother has married whiter, part of a mindset to “improve the race”; her son marries a girl of West Indian descent, which the mother sees as a “backward” step. When the son is killed during the U.S. invasion, racial and other tensions drive the grandmother, daughter-in-law and her young son apart, until a ghost from the past comes to try and reunite them.

The cast includes Nina Vincent from Panama and Jerónimo Henao of Colombia, as well as Panamanian newcomers Delicia Montañez and Alex Jiménez.

“Sultán’s” first financial support was announced at the closing night of the Panama Film Festival in 2013, when it became the first feature to be supported by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s Fondo Cine Cinema Fund. Paid in installments, the award was a very respectable $700,000. The budget Castro Rios projects is around $1.1 million.

The film is a coproduction between Sultan el Film (Panama) and Milagros Producciones (Colombia). It also received support from the Ibermedis Fund and of the Film Development Fund of Colombia (Fdc).

Written and directed by Enrique Castro Ríos and produced by María Neyla Santamaría, "Sultán" is the first feature film produced with the support of the Panama Film Commission and represents a new Panamanian independent film industry.

Castro Rios’ previous credits include the short “Wata,” awarded best Central American short film at the Icarus Film Festival of Guatemala in 2010.

The co-production was filmed by cinematographer Diego Jiménez (Colombia), and executive produced by Miriam Pons (Panama).

About the Foundation Iff Panama

Foundation International Film Festival of Panama (Iff Panama Foundation) is a non - profit organization created to support the implementation of the International Film Festival of Panama and promote cultural and educational activities that are an integral part of the event organization . The Festival is sponsored mainly by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (Miti), Tourism Authority of Panama, MasterCard®, Copa Airlines, 507 Red Lager, Mayor of Panama, K Magazine, Tvn FIlms, among other generous sponsors .

See more here.

I have been visiting Cuba since 2000 when I went there to perfect my Spanish. My Spanish is still far from perfect but I have grown to love Cuba. Since I went there to learn and happened upon the Havana Film Festival which is held this year December 3rd to 13th, I have returned to the Festival every year and have found a world of great talent which increasingly is raring to get out into the world.

Ivan Giroud is a part of that Festival world and actually is now its most important part (aside from the films and filmmakers that is). Starting from zero, he is now considered one of the most qualified specialists in Latin American Cinema.

Read on to see who he is and how he sees Cuban and Latin American Cinema.

How did you get into film?

I was born in Havana in 1957.

I have loved cinema since I was very young. However I did not study film as there was no cinema school in Cuba until 1986.

I had a general education and graduated in Civil

Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of Havana in 1981.

I am self-taught in film – what’s that called?

You are an autodidact.

Yes, an autodidact.

In the 70s, Cuba had the best cinema in the world and the best posters as well. These posters remained the finest posters in the world throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s.

Yes, they are silk-screened and on display and for sale. I myself treasure the poster of one o my favorite fims, “Suite Habana” by Fernando Pérez .

In my last year working as a civil engineer I contacted Icaic seeking employment. In 1981 friends in film, like Daisy Granados, the star of “Cecilia” gave me work on her film. I met her husband, Pastor Vega, a filmmaker who was also the first Director of the Festival from 1979 to 1990, a post he took after finishing “Portrait of Teresa” Pastor said ‘Come work with me’ and so in 1988 I entered the industry at the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (Icaic), as a senior specialist and organizer of Cuban and Latin American cinema destined for Europe and North America. The job was like a programming job.

The International Festival of the New Latin American Film in Havana (aka Havana Film Festival) had sections for auteurs, socialist countries, American films and docs. It had the best films, was the preeminent film festival for Latin American cinema and was the only market where all of Latin America gathered to consider the films. It still remains a gathering place for the cineastes throughout Latin America and includes a well-respected coterie of the pioneers of Latin American cinema who created the films that best defined Latin America Cinema in the 60s and then were silenced by the dictatorships which prevailed until the 90s….like Raúl Ruiz, Aldo Francia, Patricio Guzmán and Miguel Littin from Chile, Glauber Rocha, Nelson Pereira dos Santos from Brazil Fernando Solanas and Octavio Getino from Argentina.

At the time of the Soviet collapse in 1991 (known in Cuba as “The Special Period”), I entered the Directorate of the Festival and Vega left and returned to filmmaking. There were other Directors, and in 1994 I became the Director. Alfredo Guevera, the public face of the festival for many years came back to Cuba and became President; we worked together from 1994 to 2010, my first term as the Festival Director.

The Special Period was very, very difficult, the worst of times for everyone and for all Latin American cinema. Brazilian cinema nearly disappeared. The state film organization Embrafilme had been producing 800 films a year and that disappeared for a long time.

Argentina declined in the 90s. Mexico remained active but also declined in the quality of its films. When I began as Director, Cuba was very poor, both economically and creatively. But there was also a generational change and I learned that every decline gives birth to a new generation and new creativity, and so it was.

Schools of films began training new talent. Eictv, the International Film School, funded by Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Nobel Prize money opened its doors in 1987. New schools opened in Argentina and Brazil as well. The Havana Film Festival stood as a testimony to this growing generation as it showed the first works and shorts of the likes of Trapero and others in whom you could see new Latam talent developing.

The Havana Film Festival catalogs are a history of cinema as it was the biggest programmer of films. It still gives the best view of Latam cinema today. It is still important as it gives a full picture of Latam cinema and the people in Latam cinema. Eictv is producing the most interesting film makers in the world. For 37 years the Festival was the best, though today there are not many Latam fests. This one was different. You could get to know the whole cineaste community. It never lost a generation; the older members still make movies and the festival helps them to be seen and known.

In 2010 I went to Madrid where I spent five years. In 2002 I began working on a Dictionary of Iberoamerican Cinema. This 1,000 page book was finished in 2008. From 2008 to 2010 I was the director of the festival from Spain. I also ran an arthouse theater in Madrid, the Sala Berlanga, named after a very important Spanish director a little younger than Bunuel.

In 2012 I wanted to return to Cuba where I worked on the Cuban Dictionary of Film. In April Guevera died and Icaic pulled me back to be President and Director.

Since May 2013 I have been Director of the Casa del Festival and President of the International Festival of New Cinema in Havana.

What about the filmmaker Pavel Giroud? Is he your brother?

No, he’s my nephew. He came into the business a different way, through design. He began producing music clips and then went to Eictv. From a painter he evolved into a moviemaker. He has made three films. His newest, “El Acompañante” (“The Companion”) won the best project award at San Sebastian’s 2nd Europe-Latin America Co-production Forum in 2013.

This is Giroud’s third solo film after “The Silly Age” and “Omerta”. The producers: Luis Pacheco’s Jaguar Films is Panama’s best-known production/services company. The Cuban producer is Lia Rodriguez who also runs the industry section of the Havana Film Festival. It is also produced by the Cuba/ Panama-based Arete Audiovisual, Panama’s Jaguar Films, Venezuela’s Trampolin Impulso Creativo and France’s Tu Vas Voir (Edgard Tenembaum) who produced Walter Salles’ “The Motorcycle Diaries”.

Set in 1988 Cuba, “The Companion” is about a friendship between a disgraced boxer forced to serve as a warden – in Cuban government jingo-speak, a “companion” – for an HIV victim.

What is different about the current state of your festival?

Now there are many Latin American Film Festivals, but ours was and still is different because it allows you to know the whole cineaste community. We never lost a generation. The older generation still is making movies and the younger generation is very present. The Festival helps make them known.

What about the new developments between USA and Cuba?

That is the most asked question today.

We have always had U.S. films and U.S. citizens have always visited in cultural exchanges. We’ve had Gregory Peck, Jack Lemmon in the earliest years. We’ve invited Arthur Penn, Sean Penn, John Sayles, the Coen Brothers. Danny Glover and Benecio del Toro are frequent visitors. Annette Benning and Koch Hawk of the Academy were guests. We were always well connected to the U.S. independents so that is nothing new.

The change is that It will be easier for Americans to visit and to learn.

When I went to Cuba the first time, I was actually surprised to see so many Afro-Cubans. For some reason I assumed USA was the only nation with former slaves. I should have realized the Spanish also traded in slaves but only when I was in Cuba did I “get” it. Now I see the world so differently.

In Cuba black and white races mixed and the mixture (the mulatto) is what is a Cuban today. U.S. has segregation by and large. Latinos live together, Asian, African-Americans are all separated and that creates a totally different mentality.

I am very interested in African Diaspora films and Cuba has a lot. I have always enjoyed the documentaries. You can’t see them anywhere else.

This year there is a great documentary, “They are We" (“Ellos son nosotros”). It is anthropological about the Cuban town Matanza. Matanza has some of the best music in Cuba. It investigates their African roots in Sierra Leone and identifies ancestors and where they were from. Determined to find the exact origin of songs coming from there, the Australian filmmaker - researcher spent two years showing images throughout the region in Sierra Leonie until he confirmed that the Cubans were singing songs similar to the language of an ethnic group made extinct because of the slave trade.

I’ll send you the BBC article. (Read it here)

Thank you Ivan for this hour of your time. I am so happy to have finally connected with you after seeing you for so many years in Havana and in Toronto (where you stay with Helga Stephenson, the subject of an earlier post: Read it here )

More on Ivan:

Ivan has provided advice to other Latin American film festivals and has collaborated on research projects and screenplays, as well as in the production of theater and classical music. In 2008 he was invited to speak at the seminar Contributions of Latin American cinema to world cinema in the first American Film Congress held in Mexico City in the Congress book stories presented in common 40 years / 50 movies of Latin American cinema, of which he is one of its editors.

He was a visiting professor of the Master in Management of the Film Industry Carlos III University courses in 2010, 2011 and 2012. He is one of four directors of the Dictionary of Latin American Cinema; with Carlos F. Heredero, Eduardo Rodríguez Merchán, Benard da Costa and João project Sgae of Spain, consisting of 10 volumes and 16 thousand entries. Between 2008 and 2012 he was Director of audiovisual programming and Berlanga Room Buñuel Institute Foundation Author of Spain, a period in which he was international adviser Icaic.

** New Update: Two more American films have come to my attention through readers of the blog:

Alison Klayman wrote to say "I know you said at least two films, but I wanted specifically to alert you to the fact that my film "The 100 Years Show" is also playing in the Panorama Documental sections (same as Pj Letofsky's film). "The 100 Years Show" is about 100-year old Cuban-American artist Carmen Herrera, and was produced with RatPac (Brett Ratner) Documentary Films. I'll be attending the festival too.

Alex Mallis wrote in to say: "Our short narrative, "La Noche buena" (the first American-directed since the embargo) is also screening at the festival.

Original Blog:

At least two films by American filmmakers will screen this year at the Havana Film Festival, whose official name is Festival de Cine Nuevo Latinamericano. As the Centerpiece Film, Bob Yari, producer of almost 50 films, will screen his second directed film “Papa” about Ernest Hemingway. It can be called “the first [official or legal] American film made in Havana in the last fifty years”, though underground films have been made (e.g., “Love & Suicide”). “Papa” is being sold at Afm by Elias Axume’s Premiere Entertainment.

Doc filmmaker Pj Letofsky will also be screening his film “ Tarkovsky: Time Within Time” which just premiered at the Sao Paolo Film Festival.

Many U.S. citizens are now interested in going to Havana. To give an in-depth look at Cuba’s film business, I am publishing a [long] chapter of what I hope will soon be published, my book on Iberoamerican film business. I will also be publishing another [shorter] interview here soon with Havana Film Festival Director, Ivan Giroud.

Cuba (Chapter Seven)

Officially the Republic of Cuba, or in Spanish, República de Cuba, the nation is comprised of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. To the north of Cuba lies the United States; the Bahamas are to the northeast, México to the west, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica to the south, and Haiti and the Dominican Republic are to the southeast.

Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, and with over 11 million inhabitants.

Cuba is undergoing a transition into a market, entrepreneurial economy under the Presidency of Raul Castro. With this transition, the cinema industry is also undergoing great changes. The state mandated organization, Icaic, which has been running the cinema industry, is now under scrutiny. New legislation concerning the film industry is slowly underway as a result of discussions ongoing within the film community. Hopefully the establishment of diplomatic relations will the U.S. last October will propel changes, though without lifting the embargo, it may not.

History of Cinema of Cuba

Cuba’s elite has always stayed in touch with the latest in culture as it developed in Europe during the Spanish colonial era. Cuba’s tradition of cinema dates back to 1897 when the Lumiére Brothers representative from France stopped in Havana to show their films on a tour of the Antilles Islands, México, Venezuela, and the Guineas. Cuba’s particular style of cinema, called the “Cinema of the Greater Antilles”, evolved from the theater of melodrama and comedy and from the radio dramas of Felix B. Caignet, all of which formed the popular melodramas and comedies we still see today.

Mexican coproductions and U.S. filmmakers escaping the monopolistic Edison came to Cuba as well as to California in the early days of film. Federico Garcia Lorca arrived in Cuba in 1930 with a screenplay, “Voyage of the Moon”, and a print of “Un Chien Andalou” hoping to break from the Paris-Berlin monopoly, but his plans never took shape. Many films from Spain, México, Argentina and Uruguay also played in Cuba. Some leading Cuban actors had a strong presence in México and Argentina. Musicians such as Ernesto Lecuona, Bola de Nieve and Rita Montaner performed in movies in several countries.

Cuba, along with Mexico and Argentina, has the most developed cinema culture of Latin America. At its most prosperous, it had the third largest number of theaters in Latin America until the special period when Ussr withdrew its support. Today it has 39 movie theaters. Three of them, including the Yara in Havana, had been built especially for 3D in the 1950s.

Movie going is one of Cuba’s national pastimes, rating perhaps as high as baseball. The average Cuban sees one and a half films a year. However, the lack of international appeal for most of its comedies and melodramas has held its international growth in check up to today. That is now changing.

The international nature of Cuban cinema was consciously defined after the Revolution of 1959 when the Institute for Cuban Art and Industry Cinematography (Icaic) was created by Fidel Castro and entrusted to his university classmate, Alfredo Guevara. The law creating Icaic was incorporated into the Cuban Constitution itself just three months after the Revolution and was an important part of the Nuevo Cine Latinoamerico, a movement throughout Latin America as the Latin American nations threw off their dictatorships. Film, according to this law, is "the most powerful and provocative form of artistic expression, and the most direct and widespread vehicle for education and bringing ideas to the public.”

Cinema was created for theatrical exhibition, for individuals and groups to share in smaller collectives, and for television.

The law ordaining Icaic to control every cinematographic activity created no further rules about financing, about submitting, reading and approving project proposals or regarding any required time frames. Icaic functions very internally with no outside surveillance.

Actually it is possible to make films without Icaic participation, the point is that without Icaic a film cannot get national distribution.

Over the past decade Icaic has loosened its monopolistic administration. Every sector and every level of cinema is discussing the concept of a new Law of Cinema with the government’s interest in formalizing as law a more inclusive infrastructure with more transparent rules and regulations.

Under the leadership of Raul Castro, the island has been undergoing a gradual economic reform process allowing entrepreneurs to license their own businesses after decades of state monopoly. The measures include the authorization of self-employment in more than 200 small trades and activities. According to the government, there are currently 442,000 registered as “self-employed”. The Castro administration hopes for this emerging sector to absorb over a million state workers to be laid off in the coming years.[ii]

In October 2014, the state closed down many private cinemas which had emerged avowing to the love of cinema of the people. Many were 3D “salons” in homes or in separate rooms in restaurants. Authorities pressed for "order, discipline and obedience" in the growing small business sector. Needless to say, the films shown were pirated and not licensed by the rights holders. Nor was there ever any official licensing to privately owned theaters (yet).

However, these could provide a good source of taxation. It needs to be decided what shall be taxed, how tax monies should be apportioned for film funding, film education, what tax incentives the government might offer, how distribution will be subsidized, how archives may be maintained and presented, how to regulate screenings, dvd, TV and online platforms, what cash incentives might bring in production from the outside, what joint ventures within the Caribbean might be developed and how Icaic is approaching and incorporating the changing environment. The Director of Icaic, Robert Smith de Castro. is facing more challenges than its previous longtime Director, Alfredo Guevera, ever faced when the government provided everything. Now it must find answers from its neighbors and its own internal producers and procedures.

In general, funding a film, renting equipment and shooting in Cuba all need to be approved by Icaic. This has changed somewhat as other players have come to take a role, like Rtv Commercial, which is in fact the production company of Cuban National Television.

Rtv Commercial coproduced the newest Cuban hit, “Conducta” (“Behavior”) with Icaic. It premiered at Ficg 2014 (Guadalajara International Film Festival) and played at Tiff 2014 and other festivals such as the Málaga Spanish Film Festival 2014 where it won five awards.

New Developments in Cuban Cinema

In 2014 there were 14 productions and coproductions made, compared to seven in 2009 and 4 in 2000 according to FnCl and Ocal, databases of Latin American film.

At Cannes’ Cinema du Monde in May 2014 and in San Sebastian’s Coproduction Forum, “ August” (“Agosto”) was one of 15 projects selected to be seen and discussed by the international community of sales, distribution and financial executives. Directed by Armando Capó Ramos and produced by La Feria Producciones’ Marcella Esquivel, it is a coproduction between Costa Rica and Cuba. It will shoot next year in Havana and is now raising funds through crowdfunding. Also featured among the 15 in San Sebastian was “Wolfdog” (“Hombre entre perro y lobo”) directed by Irene Gutiérrez and produced by El Viaje Films, a Spain-Cuba coproduction.

Seeking modes of financing outside of government funding began in 2002 with the Festival of New Filmmakers showcasing projects was created by young people outside the Icaic system. As a result of the 2002 event, five years later, a funding mechanism called Hacienda Cine was created by pulling productions from Icaic Cuban television into centers and foundations that have other areas for audiovisual production. Pitch sessions for each selected entity were set up. The prize for production services worth 20,000 Convertible Cuban Pesos (equivalent to Us $20,000) was set up by Icaic Production. There are currently also smaller groups creating smaller formats, scientific or otherwise who are fomenting alternative forms of financing as well.

Lia Rodriguez Nieto is an attorney who was mentored by and worked fourteen years, until his death, with Camilo Vives, Icaic’s head of production, first as an attorney and then as a producer. She has now taken charge of the industry section at the Havana Film Festival which Vives began in 2009. She and Antonio López, recently produced a Cuba-Panama-France coproduction “ El Acompañante” (“The Companion”) directed by Pavel Giroud. She states that over the last five to seven years, private (not state institutional) productions have co-existed with institutional production. However, it would be important for independent producers to have a more regulated and confident relationship with Icaic in a more normalized fashion in order to have easier access to filming permits, forms of financing, banking relations, coproduction treaties, and a number of other elements which are essential to film production.

Rebeca Chávez is a director and a member of one of the groups pushing for a new cinema law which will, in principle, establish a new system incorporating the democratic participation of all people in the business, including techs, writers, directors, producers, actors, etc. and where all will have a democratically designed access to funds. In1984 she began her career as documentary director and her work has been given different national and international awards. She is the second woman in Cuba who has made feature films. She has taught several seminars on theory and practice of documentary cinema and on the Cuban experience in the genre in different institutions in the United States, Puerto Rico, England and Spain. She has worked as advisor for scripts of documentaries and feature films.

It is most important that the state has the will to make these changes, and it has stated it is open to changing the laws. Omar González who succeeded Alfredo Guevara as the head of the Icaic was replaced in 2013 by 30 year Icaic employee Roberto Smith de Castro who is now faced with reorganizing Icaic and implementing new laws which are yet to be formulated. He is considered to be a patient and attentive man who listens and will work to incorporate the diverse opinions into a new working reality.

The son of the famed director Daniel Diaz Torres whose controversial film “Alicia en el pueblo de Maravillas” (“Alice in the City of Wonders”) in 1991 was so critical of the bureaucracy of the government at the time of the Soviet collapse that it caused the resignation of Icaic’s director Espinosa, independent producer Daniel Diaz Ravelo points out that the independent producer is neither legal nor illegal but exists in a sort of limbo, free to produce whatever he or she wants but needing legal sanctions to access necessary permits, equipment, etc. And a filmmaker has no bank account so fiscal responsibility is difficult. One must get a certificate from Icaic but there is no registration rule on how this is to be done.

And it gets more complicated. It is difficult to raise a Us$400,000 budget without networking with filmmakers from other countries and yet travel is not easy for Cubans. They can travel -- Cuba no longer has a problem with that -– but often they cannot get the visa required from the country they want or need to travel to. Daniel’s father had a problem in traveling to find financing for his last film, “La Pelicula de Ana” (“Ana's Movie”), from former producers of his films. It did receive some funding from Icaic and from former funding friend, Icestorm in Germany, and a loan from Ibermedia. Unfortunately Daniel Diaz Torres, Sr. recently died an early death and did not see the fruits of his labor in the 2013 Havana premiere.

The new generation today in Cuba is highly independent; it knows that diversity of film subjects and of filmmakers is key to Cuban cinema today and it is finding diverse sources of financing and distribution. It needs more information as well because everything depends upon contacts. Cineastes traveling to Cuba will find a vibrant group open to coproducing.

2015 marks the eighth year of the Havana Film Festival’s Works in Progress. The Post Production Award, Nuestra América Primera Copia, is an international competition for films from Latin America and from Cuba, with no restrictions; films can be produced by Icaic or independently. For example, in 2013 awards went to four films, one from Chile, “I’m Not Lorena” (“No Soy Lorena”), which premiered at Tiff 2014; one from Argentina, “La Salada”, which premiered at the San Sebastian International Film Festival 2014 and Tiff 2014; and two from Cuba -- one Icaic film, “His Wedding Dress” (“Vestido de novia”), and the independent, “Venice” which was also Tiff 2014.

Thanks to an initiative by La Muestra, a group of Cuban production companies (including several independent ones), once a year support is awarded to four or five projects by young filmmakers. The independent film “Melaza” by Carlos Lechuga with the 5ta Avenida Productions premiered on October 3, 2013.

Rubén Padrón Astorga, writing for On Cuba [iii], November-December 2013 [1] writes:

The best prospects for our cinema today emerged like an earthquake in late April of this year, when Kiki Álvarez, the director of “Jirafas”, “La ola” and “Marina” and “Venezia”, initiated a debate on the problems that the country has with two vital filmmaking processes (production and distribution). Close to 60 audiovisual makers responded with a meeting where they formed a Filmmakers Committee to represent the rest of the country’s professionals.

Soon after its creation, the Committee announced that its objectives included ensuring the active participation of Cuban filmmakers in every decision that was made about [our] cinema, and protecting and developing its production at the industrial and independent levels. At this time, they are working together with Icaic and the Ministry of Culture to pass a decree-law defining the autonomous audiovisual creator, which would legitimize filmmakers as a legal concept, with full rights to exercise their profession. However, the decree-law, which was drafted seven years ago and ratified by the most recent Uneac Congress, was rewritten by the Filmmakers Committee so that it is not limited to recognizing audiovisual practice as individual work, but as collective, and so that it legally protects independent producers.

This committee, together with the so-called Ministry of Culture Temporary Working Group for the Transformation of Icaic, is actively participating in drawing up a diagnosis of Cuban cinema’s problems, which will be followed with the drafting of policies and actions for solving those problems. This step will clear the way for the long-term creation of a comprehensive film law. This law, which would involve widening the scope of the law passed in 1959 for Icaic’s founding, or drafting a new one, would include the creation of a film commission that would support production and make it viable; a promotion fund that would be governed by an arts council, and to which all independent and institutional artists could aspire; financial incentives that would promote the support of private and state companies and sponsors; and a general legal framework that conceives of cinema systemically, inspired by the useful experiences that have taken place in other countries in the region, such as Colombia, Argentina, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic.

A convocation of cinema directors was held May 4, 2013 in Strawberry and Chocolate Cultural Center, Havana to address the need to participate in all plans and activities planned for Cuban cinema. The meeting chose a working group composed of Enrique Kiki Álvarez, Enrique Colina, Rebeca Chávez Lourdes de los Santos, Daniel Diaz Ravelo, Pavel Giroud, Magda González Grau, Inti Herrera, Senel Paz, Fernando Perez, Manuel Perez and Pedro L. Rodríguez.

The main objective of this group is to represent the filmmakers at all levels and events, promote and ensure the active participation of the same in all decisions and projects that relate to Cuban cinema, and strive for the protection and development of these arts and industries and their makers, which is our right and duty as protagonists of this art. At its first meeting, the group reached the following conclusions and agreements (verbatim):

1 -. We recognize the Cuban Film Institute and the Film Industry (Icaic) as the rector of the Cuban film industry state agency; born with the revolution and its long history is a legacy that belongs to all filmmakers. At the same time, we believe that the problems and projections of Cuban cinema today do not concern only the Icaic, but also other institutions and institutional groups or independently involved in their production, without whose help and commitment is not possible to achieve meaningful and lasting solutions. For that reason, its reorganization and promotion can not be done only in the context of this organism.

2 -. We understand the Cuban film produced through institutional, independent mechanisms, co-production with third or mixed formulas, and as filmmakers to all creators, technicians and Cuban specialists of these arts and industries that do their work inside or outside the institutions , whatever they may be aesthetic, content or affinity group. Consequently, it is imperative the adoption of Decree Law Media Creator recognition. This decree should be enriched with all additional legal supplements necessary.

3 -. We consider essential enacting a Film Law, whose production and given all participate and to be the legal body to order and protect the artistic and economic activity in the country.

4 -. We consider it important to study and implement a Film Development Fund, to which all authors in accessing equal rights and conditions, and open call to an independent jury whose selection parameter is the quality and feasibility of the whole project.

5 -. At this stage, the filmmakers give priority to the organization and remodeling of the methods of production and realization of works, the concept that these are, first and last instance being essentially the way we express ourselves and connect with the public. Similarly, we propose a systemic boost our activity covering the organization and remodeling of the forms of production, distribution, exhibition and national and international projection of Cuban cinema.

6 -. Start work, reviewing and updating the document "Proposals for a renewal of Cuban cinema", adopted at the Seventh Congress of the Uneac in 2008. As progress is made, they will be sharing all the proposals with the filmmakers.

7 -. Exchanging proposals and views with the State Commission working on the development of proposals for the transformation of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry.

8 -. To express our deep concern for all matters concerning international relations and Cuban cinema projection, which was a revolutionary vanguard movement in the Latin American and global context. We strive for a quick recovery and exchange relationships with filmmakers from Latin America and the world, and the continuity of the Festival of New Latin American Cinema, in its next edition turns 35.

9 -. This representation group performed their work in ongoing dialogue and communication with all filmmakers through regular meetings, which shall have the power to ratify or renew the group members, making decisions of common interest and to identify priorities and lines of job.

Filmmakers Group in the Assembly elected Cuban Filmmakers Saturday May 4 at the Centro Cultural Fresa y Chocolate, after its first meeting on May 8.

Havana, May 8, 2013. This was a verbatim article in Cubarte Magazine. [iv]

Festivals/ Markets

In 1979 Icaic created the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema aka Havana Film Festival as a way to disseminate its ethical convictions about developing film that was nonconformist, irreverent, critical of social injustice and rebellious against the pressures of the market across the continent. The event hosted over 600 filmmakers from Latin America and had as presidents of juries Gabriel García Márquez (Fiction ) and Santiago Álvarez (Documentaries and Cartoons.) The Coral Grand Prize winners were Geraldo Sarno (“Colonel Delmiro Gouveia”, Brazil) and Sergio Giral (“Maluala”, Cuba), in Fiction, Patricio Guzmán (“The Battle of Chile: the Struggle a People Without Arms”, Chile), Documentary, and Juan Padrón (“Elpidio Valdés”, Cuba) in Animation.

However, the contradiction of Icaic’s exercising a central control over maverick innovations is obvious since it controlled the production criteria and the right to decide what type of film was convenient to make and what was not.

An official competition of unpublished scripts for feature films is held by International Festival of New Latin American Cinema for authors from Latin America and the Caribbean for original scripts (no literary adaptations), written in Spanish and with Latin American themes. Scripts whose production rights have been transferred to third parties are not eligible. [v]

Icaic also supports the Festival Internacional de Cine Pobre de Humberto Solas[vi] for low budget films and Festival Internacional de Documentales “Santiago Alvarez in Memoriam”[vii].

Muestra Joven is a festival for Cuban youth with premiere fiction, doc and animated films. It has collateral activities of debates about the films in the festivals, master classes, meetings about contemporary issues and themes in the audiovisual community, workshps and onferences, poster exhibitions and homages.

In April 2014 the Mediateque of Women Directors, based in Cuba formally affiliated with The Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival in creating the the Caribbean Film Market. The project is also in association with The Foundation for Global Democracy and Development of the Dominican Republic, The Association for The Development of Art and Commercial Cinematography of Guadalupe, The Foundation for New Latinamerican Cinema, The Regional and International Film Festival of Guadalupe and the Mediateque of Women Directors.

Education

Icaic was in charge of training and promotion of talented young people not only in cinema but in other arts like music for which it created the Experimental Sound Group.

Isa

Most of the new independent filmmakers are young graduates of the Higher Art Institute’s (Isa) Faculty of Audiovisual Communication Media and its provincial affiliates. The University of Arts of Cuba - (Isa), Instituto Superior de Arte - was established on September 1, 1976 by the Cuban government as a school for the arts. Its original structure had three schools: Music, Visual Arts, and Performing Arts. At present the Isa has four schools, the previous three and the one for Arts and Audiovisual Communication Media. There are also four teaching schools in the provinces, one in Camagüey, two in Holguín and one in Santiago de Cuba. Isa offers pre-degree and post-degree courses, as well as a wide spectrum of brief and extension courses, including preparation for Cuban and foreign professors for a degree of Doctor on Sciences in Art. Predegree education has increased to five careers: Music, Visual Arts, Theatre Arts, Dance Arts and Arts and Audiovisual Communication Media. In 1996, the Isa established the National Award of Artistic Teaching, conceived for recognizing a lifework devoted to arts teaching.

Eictv

Eictv, the International School of Cinema and Television was founded December 15, 1986 at the Festival of New Latin American Cinema in Havana with the support of then-President Fidel Castro on the initiative of Latin American cultural figures such as Argentine director, “Father of the New Latin American Cinema”, Fernando Birri, Julio and Gabo and Colombian Nobel Prize winning novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez who donated his prize money to establish the school.. It is located in San Antonio de los Baños near Havana, on land donated by the Cuban government.

Hundreds of young students from all over Latin America have studied direction, script, photography and edition. Since its founding , 810 students have graduated and it has become one of the region’s most important and well-grounded cultural projects.

Students pay 15,000 euros (about $19,700) to attend for the full three-year program. The fee includes food, lodging and equipment. Tuition income accounts for just 15 percent of the school's budget. Funding comes from international agencies such as Ibermedia; countries including Brazil, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Panama; and regional organizations like the Alba alliance of leftist Latin American nations.

For the past eight years, Nuevas Miradas, organized by the Eictv Production Department has held its presentations at the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema for bringing new projects to the attention of international professionals.

Also in the late 1980s, Cuba created the Third World Film School to train students from various third world countries in the art of filmmaking.

Film Funding

Icaic has been the only body to fund films. How the selection of what films would receive funding has never been a public matter.

There are no instruments for private companies or individuals to contribute to film production in Cuba yet. There are however, international funds that may help finance films, such as Hubert Bals Fund from The Netherlands, World Cinema Fund from Germany, Fonds Sud from France, the Norwegian Fund, Sor Fond, Acp, etc. The best actively kept lists are found in Ocal[viii] and Online Film Financing [ix].

Coproduction with Cuba

As early as 1948 coproductions were common between Cuba and México. During the 70s and 80s Russian coproductions included Mikhail Kalatozov’s classic 1964 film “I Am Cuba” (“Soy Cuba”). Spain has played a role in coproducing Latin American and Cuban films since the 30s but in the 1990s it began to invest more heavily. In 1997 Ibermedia was created for the purpose of promoting coproduction between Spain and Latin American countries. Cuba is one of the fourteen countries involved in this organization.

In addition, Cuba has bilateral coproduction treaties with Italy, Canada, Venezuela, Spain and Chile. So far nothing has resulted from the Chile accord.

Two examples of Cuban coproduced films are Humberto Solás’ 1982 film “Cecilia” (Cuba - Spain) and Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío’s 1992 Academy Award-nominated “Strawberry and Chocolate” (“Fresa y chocolate”) (Cuba – México – Spain - U.S.).

In September 2013 at San Sebastian International Film Festival’s 2nd Europe-Latin America Coproduction Forum, “The Companion”/ "El Acompañante" won the Best Project Award sponsored by Spain’s Audiovisual Producers’ Rights Management Association Egeda and carrying a 10,000 Euros (Us$13,000) cash award.

This is the third feature of Giroud after “The Silly Age” and “Omerta”. It is a coproduction of Cuba, Venezuela’s NativaPro Cinematográfica and France’s Tu Vas Voir owned by Edgard Tenembaum who produced Walter Salles’ “The Motorcycle Diaries”. The film also obtained the collaboration of Programa Ibermedia and was selected for Cinemas du Monde.

Pavel Giroud is one of the most promising of young Cuban filmmakers today. “The Companion”/ "El Acompañante" is set in 1988 Havana and tells the story of the friendship which develops between Horacio Romero, a Cuban boxer who fails a drug test and a defiant patient at an AIDS center under military rule for whom Romero must serve as a warden or, in Cuban government parlance, a “companion”. Playing the role of Horacio is Yotuel Romero (Latin Grammy Award-winning and founding member of Cuban rap group Orishas). Orishas is one of the world’s most critically hailed Latin-urban artists. The co-protagonist is Cuban actor Armando Miguel Gómez who has received international recognition for his role in the recent films "Behavior”/ “Conducta" and “Melaza”. International sales are handled by the Brazil-based international sales agency, Habanero, which, coincidently is owned by Cuban Alfredo Calvino and Brazilian Patricial Martin who handle such outstanding films as “Juan on the Dead”, Carlos Lechuga’s “Melaza”, Sebastian Cordero’s “Pescador” and Francisco Franco’s “Last Call”. Habanero also sponsors distribution awards at Ficg and Ventana Sur’s Primer Corte, a showcase for pictures in post-production. All the updated information about these films, including festivals and awards is available at: www.habanerofilmsales.com.

Case Study of the Producer, Inti Hererra

Cuba’s first English language film, “Eating the Sun”, a coproduction with Canada, is being produced by Inti Herrera who also is heading the new night spot of avant garde popular entertainment, La Fabrica de Arte Cubano.

Inti Herrera, formerly of 5ta Avenida Productions and I first met in 2003 through the international sales agent Alfredo Calvino whose then-company Latinofusion was selling Inti’s first fiction feature, “Viva Cuba”, a road movie of two kids traveling across Cuba in search of one’s father.

Inti graduated Eictv and worked for a long time as an independent producer of documentaries.

In 2009, when Camilo Vives, Icaic’s head of production created the Industry Sector of the Havana Film Festival Inti became its director and managed it until 2010. In 2010 when he was still running the industry space he invited me to speak about New Media, and I spoke of Peter Broderick who was then invited to do a workshop at Eictv.

As an executive producer, Inti must raise financing from the development through the completion of film projects. Each project is of course different from the last. He and Alejandro Brugués were originally discussing working on a different sort of film, “Melaza”, but put it on hold and in 2010 and 2011 he worked instead on the commercial film, “Juan of the Dead”, which is the most exhibited film of Cuba.

“Juan of the Dead”, Cuba’s first truly independent movie, a zombie horror comedy was coproduced in 2011 by Spain's La Zanfoña Producciones, where it was post-produced, and Cuba's first independent production company Producciones de la 5ta Avenida which also produced “Personal Belongings” in 2006 and “Melaza” in 2012. The film was written and directed by Alejandro Brugués (“Personal Belongings”). It was executive produced by Inti Herrera, Claudia Calviño and Gervasio Iglesias.

The film was represented for international sales by Latinofusion, a Guadalajara based company sponsored by Universidad de Guadalajara and managed by Alfredo Calvino. It was shown in more than 50 festivals worldwide, winning 10 audience awards and the Spanish Film Academy’s Goya Award of the for best Iberoamerican film. It sold to 42 territories.

“Juan of the Dead” distributors:

Argentina (Condor/ Mirada), Bolivia (Londra Films P&D), Brazil (Imovision), Canada (A-z Films), Chile (Arcadia Films), Germany (Pandastorm Pictures), Hong Kong and Macau (Sundream Motion Pictures), Hungary (Ads Service), Italy ( Moviemax Media Group Spa), Japan (Fine Films), Latin American Pay TV (HBO Latin America), México and Central America (Canana), Netherlands (Filmfreak), Norway (Tromso International Film Festival), Puerto Rico (Wiesner), Russia and Cis territories (Cinema Prestige), Spain (Avalon), Switzerland (Ascot Elite), U.K and Ireland (Metrodome), U.S.(Theatrical Distributor Outsider Pictures, all other rights Focus World)

Today Inti is working with a new director, Alfredo Ureta on the Canadian coproduction and the first Cuban film in English. “Eating the Sun” is about a Canadian-Cuban couple who decides to live in Cuba. Before settling in they make a tour of the country and become involved in a psychological thriller. The Canadian producer is Gordon Weiske of Canwood Entertainment. They are discussing the male lead role with Kris Holden-Ried. The goal is to find new markets for this film, markets which Cuba has not targeted before.

Top 10 Films of Cuba is a selection of my own:

1. “Memorias del subdesarrollo” (“Memories of Underdevelopment”) (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, 1968)

2. “Lucia” (Humberto Solás, 1969)

3. “Vampiros en La Habana” (“Vampires in Havana”) (Juan Padrón, 1983)

4. “Soy Cuba” (“I am Cuba”) ( Mikhail Kalatozov, 1964)

5. “La bella del Alhambra” (“The beauty of the Alhambra”) (Enrique Pineda Barnet, 1989)

6. “Fresa y Chocolate” (“Strawberry and Chocolate”) (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío, 1993)

7. “Lista de Espera” (“The waiting list”) (Juan Carlos Tabío, 2000)

8. “Havana Suite” (“Suite Havana”) (Fernando Pérez, 2003)

9. “Juan of the Dead” (Alejandro Brugués, 2011)

10. “Melaza” (Carlos Lechuga, 2013)

[1] http://www.oncubamagazine.com/magazine/for-independent-and-industrial-cuban-cinema/

Cubacine. El Portal del Cine Cubano. http://www.cubacine.cu/index.html.

[ii] http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=99785#sthash.yCWbyCcU.dpuf

[iii] http://oncubamagazine.com/magazine-articles/for-independent-and-industrial-cuban-cinema/ Cubacine. El Portal del Cine Cubano. http://www.cubacine.cu/index.html.

[iv] http://www.cubarte.cult.cu/periodico/opinion/cineastas-cubanos-por-el-cine-cubano/24423.html

[v] http://www.cinelatinoamericano.org/ocal/direct.aspx?cod=1234

[vi] www.festivalcinepobre.org , www.cubacine.cu/cinepobre

[vii] www.cubacine.cu/festivalsantiagoalvarez/index.html

[viii] http://www.cinelatinoamericano.org/ocal/directorios.aspx?cod=8&par=2

[ix] www.olffi.com/...

Philippe Ramos’ Mad Love was awarded the top prize at the Montreal World Film Festival.

The Montreal World Film Festival (Aug 27 - Sept 7) has revealed the award winners for its 2015 edition.

Philippe Ramos’ Mad Love took the top prize, the grand prize of the Americas, while the best director prize was shared between Mikko Kuparinen for 2 Nights Till Morning and Georgi Balabanov for The Petrov File.

Alongside its main awards, the festival presented British producer Lord Puttname with a special grand prize of the Americas for his “exceptional contribution to the world of cinema”.

Full list:

Competition awards:

Grand Prize of the Americas: Mad Love, dir. Philippe Ramos (France)Special Grand Jury Award: Misafir (The Visitor/La Visiteuse), dir. Mehmet Eryilmaz (Turkey)Best director: 2 nights til morning, dir. Mikko Kuparinen (Finland / Luthania) and The Petrov File (Le Dossier Petrov), dir. Georgi Balabanov (Bulgaria / Germany)Best Actress: Malin Buska for The Girl King, dir. [link...

The 20th Busan International Film Festival (Biff) has announced its line-up of 304 films from 75 countries with 121 world and international premieres.

The fest in South Korea will open Oct 1 with the world premiere of Indian film Zubaan, the feature directorial debut of independent film producer Mozez Singh (White Noise, Peddlers).

Produced by Guneet Monga (The Lunchbox), Zubaan is about a young man’s search for values and self.

Biff will close Oct 10 with the world premiere of Chinese film Mountain Cry, directed by Larry Yang, based on Ge Shui-ping’s award-winning novel.

Gala Presentations will include Hou Hsiao-hsien’s The Assassin, Jia Zhangke’s Mountains May Depart, Luca Guadagnino’s A Bigger Splash and the world premiere of previously announced Busan-Youku collaboration project Color Of Asia - Masters, directed by Im Sang-soo, Naomi Kawase, Wang Xiaoshuai and Apichatpong Weerasethakul.

Other Asian masters set to attend include Eric Khoo with Singaporean 50th anniversary omnibus 7 Letters, Bahman Ghobadi with the...

The film industries of Latin America and Europe collaborated during the past San Sebastian International Film festival in a co-production forum that brought creators, producers, distributors, and other important figures in the film industry together in order to tighten and expand relationships, and promote new and developing projects.

Read more about the Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum Here

Chosen as the best project presented at the forum was Pavel Giroud's El Acompañante , a Cuban-French Co-Production from production company Areté Audiovisual. As a result,and as an extension of the different alliances between Producers Network of the Marché du Film (Festival de Cannes) and Argentina’s Incaa (Instituto Nacional de Cine y Artes Audiovisuales) Giroud's and several other projects will be able to participate in the Ventana Sur market and in the coming edition of the Cannes Producers Network. Both of these international events will provide the filmmakers and their films crucial exposure in the international film business.

Another special mention during the forum was the one sponsored by Egeda, (Audiovisual Producer’s Rights Management Association) who went to the Colombian-French project La Tierra y la Sobra directed by César Augusto Acevedo and produced by Burning Blue.

See below the full list of projects benefited by the forum's initiatives and which will form part of the Ventana Sur market:

Pedro Aguilera Londaiz from Pedro Aguilera P.C.(Demonios tus ojos)

Edgar Tenembaum from Tu Vas Voir (El Acompañante)

José María Lara from Shangri-la P.C. S.L. (La puerta del amor)

Marianne Dumoulin from Jba Production (Niño nadie)

Alberto Gerrikabeitia from Abra Prod S.L. (Operaciòn concha)

Eugenia Mumenthaler from Alina Film (Pozo de aire)...

Special mention for César Augusto Acevedo’s Land and Shade.

Pavel Giroud’s The Companion (El Acompañante) picked up the best project award at the 2nd Europe-Latin America Co-production Forum (Sept 23-25) in San Sebastian.

The film marks the third solo feature for the Cuban director and was produced by Cuba-Panama-based Arete Audiovisual, in co-production with Panama’s Jaguar Films, Venezuela’s Trampolin Impulso Creativo and France’s Tu Vas Voir.

The award, sponsored by Spain’s Audiovisual Producers’ Rights Management Association (Egeda), included a cash prize of €10,000 ($13,000).

Set in 1988 Cuba, the story centres on a friendship between a disgraced boxer forced to serve as a warden for a HIV victim.

A special mention was given to Land and Shade (La Tierra y la Sombra) from Colombian director Cesar Augusto Acevedo.

Diana Bustamante’s Bogota-based Burning Blue will produce.

San Sebastian director details “personal obsession” to enhance industry days.

José Luis Rebordinos, director of the San Sebastián Film Festival, has revealed his “personal obsession” with establishing its industry strand a landmark event for the sector.

His statement of intent follows the launch of its industry days on Friday and marks the start of San Sebastian’s Films in Progress section. The strand will feature six unfinished Latin American films seeking finance that will be showcased to international players.

Also launching is the festival’s Co-Production Forum, where 16 projects are introduced to a wide range of producers, sales agents and distributors.

For the first time, both strands have been launched on the same day in a bid to give them a higher profile and an estimated 1,180 industry members have requested accreditation - a boost of more than 10% on 2012.

Bridge to South America

Both industry strands aim to provide a bridge between Europe and Latin America.

Films in Progress...

Suzanne Chisolm and Michael Parfit's documentary Saving Luna, which recounts efforts to save a lone baby killer whale, was voted the audience choice for best feature at the 23rd annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which concluded Sunday.

The fest winners were announced at the Closing Night ceremonies, which also included the U.S. premiere of Giuseppe Tornatore's The Unknown Woman.

Richie Mehta's Amal was awarded the Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema, recognizing an indie feature made outside mainstream Hollywood.

The Heineken Red Star Award, set aside for "the most progressive and gifted independent film director," went to Tao Ruspoli for his Fix, starring Shawn Andrews and Olivia Wilde, which offers up a one day-odyssey through the Los Angeles as two documentary filmmakers try to get a young man from jail to rehab.

The German feature Beautiful Bitch, directed by Martin Theo Krieger, was named best foreign film.

The Nueva Vision Award for the best Spanish-language film went to La edad de la peseta (The Silly Age), directed by Pavel Giroud.

• With Eran Kolirin's The Band's Visit out of the foreign Oscar picture, Ioncinema.com predicts a four-way race between audience faves Persepolis,  The Counterfeiters, 4 months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days and Caramel. Spain's The Orphanage has the best chance at completing the 5 pack. That said everything else is just a formality. The final five picks will be announced on Jan. 22. The Oscar ceremony takes place Feb. 24.        2008 Foreign Oscar Long ListArgentina: Xxy (Lucia Puenzo)Australia: The Home Song Stories (Tony Ayres) Austria: The Counterfeiters (Stefan Ruzowitzky)Azerbaijan: Caucasia (Farid Gumbatov)Bangladesh: On The Wings Of Dreams (Golam Rabbany Biblob)Belgium: Ben X  (Nic Balthazar) Bosnia and Herzegovina: It's Hard To Be Nice (Srdjan Vuletic)Brazil: The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (Cao Hamburger)Bulgaria: Warden of the Dead (Ilian Simeonov)Canada: The Days of Darkness (Denys Arcand)Chile: Padre nuestro (Our Father) - (Rodrigo Sepulveda)China: The Knot (Yun shui

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The animated film "Persepolis", from France, Denys Arcand's "Days of Darkness" from Canada, Johnnie To's "Exiled" from Hong Kong and Cristian Mungiu's Palm d'Or winner "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" are among the 63 films that have qualified for Oscar consideration in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' foreign language film category.

The record number of 63 entries include first-time submissions from Azerbaijan (Farid Gumbatov's "Caucasia") and Ireland (Tom Collins' "Kings").

Nominations for the 80th Academy Awards will be announced Jan. 22, and the Oscars will be handed out Feb. 24.

The complete list follows:

Argentina, "XXY", Lucia Puenzo, director; Australia, "The Home Song Stories", Tony Ayres; Austria, "The Counterfeiters", Stefan Ruzowitzky; Azerbaijan, "Caucasia", Farid Gumbatov; Bangladesh, "On the Wings of Dreams", Golam Rabbany, Biplob; Belgium, "Ben X", Nic Balthazar; Bosnia and Herzegovina, "It's Hard to Be Nice", Srdan Vuletic; Brazil, "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation," Cao Hamburger; and Bulgaria, "Warden of the Dead", Ilian Simeonov.

Canada, "Days of Darkness", Denys Arcand; Chile, "Padre Nuestro", Rodrigo Sepulveda; China, "The Knot", Yin Li; Colombia, "Satanas", Andi Baiz; Croatia, "Armin", Ognjen Svilicic; Cuba, "The Silly Age", Pavel Giroud; Czech Republic, "I Served the King of England", Jiri Menzel, director; Denmark, "The Art of Crying", Peter Schonau Fog; Egypt, "In the Heliopolis Flat", Mohamed Khan; and Estonia, "The Class", Ilmar Raag.