Of the works of Cuban independent cinema, Pandora Blueby Alán González, and History is written at nightby Alejandro Alonso Estrellawill have their world premiere in the Rotterdam International Film Festival. The event, to be held from January 25 to February 4, 2024, brings together important proposals from talents from the world cinema scene each year.
The event selected the documentary by Alonso Estrella for the Tiger Short Competition section, and González’s fiction for the Short & Mid-length.
“We couldn’t be happier to begin our journey in one of the most important festivals in the worldrecognized for the audacity, diversity and strength of its programming,” he said on Instagram Vega Alta Filmsone of the production houses of History is written at night.
Alonso Estrella’s work received the PM Prize, awarded by the “Hannah Arendt” International Institute of Artivism (INSTAR). History is written at night was presented by Cristina Kolozsváry-Kiss, programmer of the Dutch event, as “a master class on mood.” “The film immerses us in the darkness of the blackouts that affect all of Cuba. In the darkness of shadows, the flicker of fire draws stories from regions beyond the reach of light,” she added.
“A major blackout has submerged Cuba in the dark,” says the film synopsiswhich advances the filmmaker’s persistence in reaching the cuban reality, although always exploring new expressive forms and high aesthetic care. “In the streets, the inhabitants try to escape the gloom while the fire of the bonfires seems to announce the end of an era. Taking refuge inside our house, my mother tells me a vision that has been tormenting her for years,” closes the synopsis.
Pandora Bluefor its part, was produced in collaboration with Crisálida Productions, and also had support from Wajiro Films, Estudio ST and Cocuyo MediaLab. This work also received the Norwegian Fund for Cuban Cinemawhich grants the Norwegian Embassy in Havanaand with one of the prizes from the contest for equality, non-discrimination and rights of the LGBTIQ+ community sponsored in 2021 by the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC). This was highlighted by her producer, Yamila Marrero, when she broke the news on her Facebook profile of the world premiere of the film.
“It was a short that we recorded with infinite love, but with a limited and devalued budget,” said Marrero. “Sometimes we were almost on the verge of giving up, our immense desire kept us going. the story of a trans woman came to our screens and a natural actress was its protagonist,” he added.
About Pandora Bluethe critic Antonio Enrique González Rojas expressed: “it is a story of resistance and reticence. It is a story of courage and fear full of certainties and indecisions (…). The life of a Cuban trans woman It is suggested during the short film as a sum of contradictions, repressions, liberations, disappointments, searches and recklessness, which have traced on his face a profuse cartography of corrosive adventures. It is a film of antipodes, of contrast and collision. It is narrated from implosion and claustrophobia, supported by illusion and disappointment.”
It is not the first time that the independent cuban cinema arrives at this important event. In 2021, Alonso Estrella appeared at that event with the documentary Terranovaco-directed with Alejandro Pérez, and won the Ammodo Tiger Award.
González thanked the inclusion of Pandora Blue at IFFR, while still celebrating the good international run that his debut film has had: The wild woman.
The first feature film by González, author of other pieces such as The english teacher (2015), The anthill (2017), The bird girl (2021), had its world premiere in the Toronto International Film Festival. The work also received awards at the Ceará Film Festivaland won in the Havana Film Festival the Special Choral Award of the First Film Jury.
2023-12-25 14:39:59
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