Cuba, country of cinema
While Lumière operators criss-crossed the planet and Edison's kinetoscopes invaded theaters and fairs, Cuba saw cinema arrive on its territory at the end of the 19th century. On July 24, 1897, Gabriel Veyre organized the first screening in the country's history, a few steps away from the Teatro Tacón, which has now given way to the Gran Teatro de la Habana. This filmmaker was also at the helm of the island's first cinematographic production, Simulacre d'incendie (1897), featuring Havana's firefighters. The first decades of Cuban cinema were rich in historical films, happily drawing on literature and national mythologies to fuel a continuous output inspired as much by Hollywood cinema as by French comedies. Among the leading filmmakers of this period were Enrique Díaz Quesada, author of the first Cuban features such as El capitán Mambi (1914) and Duelo como en París (1916), and Ramón Peón, who made over a dozen films in the 1930s, including La Virgen de la caridad (1930) and Romance del Palmar (1938) with actress and singer Rita Montaner.
By 1958, Cuba was a cinematic paradise. With more than 80 feature films produced on the island, and some 600 theaters in operation, the country outstripped its larger neighbors like Mexico, and rivaled the nearby United States. At the time, Havana had 134 movie theaters, more than Paris and even New York at the same time. The revolution and the establishment of state control over the film industry radically changed the situation. Even if the seventh art had a real place in Fidel Castro's policy, the boycott of American productions and the drastic reduction in the number of films available dealt a terrible blow to cinemas. As for national productions, the Instituto Cubano del Arte y la Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC) was founded in 1959, under the direction of Alfredo Guevara. Far from interrupting or stifling creativity, he encouraged young filmmakers to diversify their approaches and go against the grain of "capitalist" cinema. Documentary became a form in its own right in this new movement, as figures such as Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Humberto Solás emerged. Death of a Bureaucrat (1966), Lucia (1968) and Memories of Underdevelopment (1968) are among their most famous fictions, representing what screenwriter and director Julio García Espinosa calls "imperfect cinema". A cinema that is aware of the struggles and obstacles faced by Cubans, and transposes them unfiltered to the screen. A legacy that, despite a diversification of productions, can still be found in recent Cuban cinema. Filmmakers such as Fernando Pérez, with Clandestine (1987) or Suite Habana (2003), continue to reflect on recent Cuban history, in films where music plays a key role. Today, despite the reopening of its doors to Hollywood blockbusters, the ICAIC remains an important Latin American institution, and Cuba remains a nerve center for Latin American cinema. Witness the renown of its Escuela Internacional de Cine y Televisión, founded in 1986 by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and the Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano, held every December since 1979, which awards the coveted Gran Coral du cinéma. A must for seventh-art fans visiting the island.
When the world discovered Cuba
A socialist paradise for some, a musical haven for others, Cuba has inspired numerous international filmmakers and attracted the cameras of the greatest directors. The story of Ernesto (Che) Guevara has, of course, been a major source of inspiration, but so have Ernest Hemingway's sojourns and the rhythms of the Buena Vista Social Club. Wim Wenders' 1999 documentary of the same name, Buena Vista Social Club, was a critical success and won numerous awards in Europe and the United States. And adaptations of Hemingway's work such as The Old Man and the Sea (1958), starring Spencer Tracy, are also part of the island's cinematic heritage, filmed notably in Cojimar Bay. For the record, the first post-revolutionary Hollywood film to be made on the island also revolved around the figure of the writer. Papa, directed by Bob Yari (2015), marks the return of American productions after an absence of over fifty years. It's an opportunity to rediscover on screen the places where the author lived between 1939 and 1960, including his villa at Finca Vigia, now a museum, and the Bar El Floridita, founded over 200 years ago and a landmark in the capital. Finally, it's impossible to talk about Cuba in cinema without mentioning the little-known masterpiece by Russian filmmaker Mikhail Kalatozov, Soy Cuba. Now in the pantheon of great 20th-century films, this black-and-white drama was poorly received on release, and forgotten before being rediscovered in the late 1990s. Since then, it has become an integral part of both Russian and Cuban cinematic heritage, winning an award at Cannes in 2004 for its innovative techniques and unique style. Today, Cuba is home to a different style of international production. You'll find the streets of Havana in Fast and Furious 8 (2018), as well as in the musical thriller Guava Island (2018) starring Rihanna and Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino. It takes all kinds to make a cinephile.
Cines de Cuba
Finally, if we borrow this title from the work of photographer Carolina Sandretto, who has retraced their history with magnificent portraits, it's because the architectural heritage of the island's cinemas is at least as interesting as the films shown there. The facades of cinemas such as Cine Acapulco, Cine Payret and La Riviera light up the streets of Havana, bearing witness to the glorious past of a country that still loves cinema, and is delighted to share this fascination with tourists and film lovers from all over the world.
