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Caribbean Cinema market in Havana
THE
first Caribbean Cinema market attracted to Havana
persons from the world of film from 23 countries and
proposed new looks at a reality minimized by the
cultural industry.
This
unprecedented bazaar was based in the International
Convention Center and coincided with the 5th Mobile
Exhibit of Caribbean Cinema (MICC), whose president,
Cuban director Rigoberto López, perceived the need
to give more visibility to regional filmmakers.
“The
importance of having the possibility of festival
directors and distributors coming together in one
place for the first time to appreciate and assess
140 movies by Caribbean directors, subtitled in
French, English and Spanish is evident. It is an
opportunity to consider the interest these
productions might have for audiences in their
countries and acquire screening rights, do business,
and have exchanges, López commented.
The
Mobile Exhibit of Caribbean Cinema arrived in Havana
with 21 films reflecting the wide cultural and
linguistic variety of the Caribbean, often victim of
an excessively folkloric vision.
López
said he was optimistic about the impact the
initiative could have on the region’s
cinematographic development.
The
director of the documentary
Del son
a la salsa
praised
the values of Caribbean directors, whose
international awards debunk the belief that it is a
lesser cinema.
In
fact, the program of the 5th Exhibit was
characterized by the profundity of the
documentaries, which reflect the region’s
idiosyncrasy on the basis of highly relevant life
histories.
Fan do
Brasil,
directed by Steve & Stephanie J; ¡Sonó, sonó,
Tite Curet!, by Puerto Ricans Gabriel Coss &
Israel Lugo; and La reina del pueblo,
by Venezuelan Juan A. Bello stood out among the 21
films projected in the Chapin Theater (June 12-17).
Le
bonheur d’Eva
was
selected to open the festival. Directed by Mariette
Monpierre in 2011, it approaches the characteristics
of the Diaspora from the Caribbean, the issue
focused on by this year’s event. This production has
just won the Paul Robeson Prize (best film from the
Diaspora) at the Pan-African Film & TV Festival of
Ouagadougou (FESPACO) 2013.
The
program included film material from Guadalupe, Cuba,
Venezuela,
Haiti,
Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, the
Dominican Republic and Jamaica; and has been
screened in countries of the region such as Belize,
San Bartolomé, the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, St.
Vincent & the Grenadines,
Colombia and
Venezuela.
The Caribbean Film Exhibit
concluded with the screening in Cuba of
Toussaint Louverture (France-Haiti),
attended by its producers after the expectations
aroused by its earlier showing here this April. On
that occasion MICC organizers invited its leading
actor Jimmy Jean-Louis, also a dancer and model, to
Cuba. (PL-La Jiribilla)
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