Cuban filmmaker Lilo Vilaplana was recognized with the key to the city of Miami, during a tribute in his honor, held this Friday in Little Havana.
During the “Friday Night” event in Little Havana, organized by commissioner Joe Carollo, the official recognized the importance of the director’s work, in a day that included the projection of his work and a conversation.
Although the event was scheduled to take place in the garden of the Teatro Tower, located on the famous Calle 8, the rain forced it to be held inside the theater, where the public could more comfortably see the two films shown by Vilaplana.
At the event, the feature film Horseand the short film The Death of the Catwith the intention of promoting more of the filmmaker’s work, known for his hits Planted y Planted.
When questioned by the journalist Irene Díaz, from America TeVeabout why dedicate this Friday’s day to the famous director, Carollo highlighted Vilaplana’s mission to use his art as a tool of loyal denunciation of his own people.
“Lilo is an unusual person, who has dedicated her life to making documentaries, making movies and, above all, portraying our history, the Cuban’s grief,” said the commissioner.
In this sense, he stressed that, although it is not orthodox for a Miami citizen to receive this recognition, Lilo Vilaplana has earned it for his artistic and social work.
“Something very special, for a very, very special person. Normally, the protocol tells you that you reserve the key to a city for someone who comes from abroad, but Lilo has stood out so much that she deserves a key to the city of Miami, ”added the official.
For his part, the filmmaker said he felt honored by the event in his honor and pointed out that the merit was not all his, but that making movies had been a joint effort.
“It is tremendous to be able to exhibit it, for me it is important that (the event) be dedicated to cinema, that it be dedicated to all the efforts that Miami has made to make its films, because these films that we show belong entirely to the city of Miami, to the support we have received from politicians, businessmen, artists, from all the people”, declared Vilaplana.
Regarding the films shown, he mentioned that the short film was chosen because it was his first film work, while Horse it had been another great accomplishment effort.
“The Death of the Cat It was the short with which we started independent cinema, so one day we decided to make a short with one of my stories, and we took 12,000 pesos out of our savings, that was in Colombia, plus the help of many friends, to do it”, he related.
“Y Horse Well, it is a story that Marcos Miranda cut me off one day, we wrote the script, and speaking with businessmen, politicians and sponsors, we raised 50,000 pesos to make this film”, he added.
For the filmmaker, using art to portray real situations is a powerful denunciation strategy, which serves not only to raise awareness of certain issues, such as the situation in Cuba in this case, but also to spread them, and make them powerful with stories and characters. which may well be real.
“Cinema is a very important way of denouncing, of becoming aware. For example, Planted y PlantedYes, it is a hymn to human rights, a hymn to freedom, but it is a way of drawing the world’s attention to Cuba, a country that has been under dictatorship for 64 years,” he said.
