From May 23 to June 2, Filmforum Höchst will host the only Cuban film festival in Europe for the 23rd time.
The festival will screen new feature films, documentaries and short films that tell the story of contemporary Cuba and highlight the upheavals in Cuban society. Almost all of the new films are German and in some cases European premieres.
A small focus with three films is the "período especial - special period", the very difficult time for Cuba in the 90s, when after the collapse of the Soviet Union their support stopped. Che Guevara, assassinated 50 years ago, will be commemorated by two documentaries, one from 1999 and a new French production.
A number of classic Cuban films that have received worldwide attention will also be presented again: Films by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Pastor Vega or Santiago Alvarez documentaries about Vietnam from the late 1960s, which have gone down in documentary history for their poetic and aesthetic power.
All films run in the original with German or English subtitles.
To start things off, there's some exuberant dancing to be had: on 23 May at 8.30pm, Lazara Cachao and her band will be playing at the Orange Peel. She comes from one of the most important musical families in Cuba, her father co-founded the world famous band "Buena Vista Social Club", her music combines Son, Salsa, Mambo and Jazz.
The festival will open on Thursday, May 24 at 7 p.m. with a photo exhibition by photographer Gabriele Janku and a rum libation. This will be followed by a screening of the opening film "Sergio y Serguei," winner of the Audience Award at last year's Havana Film Festival.
This year's guests are expected to include: Hector Noas, lead actor in the opening film "Sergio y Serguei"; veteran director Gerardo Chijona, who will present two of his films; and director and music aficionado Eduardo del Llano, who will introduce his latest film as well as a documentary about heavy metal music in Cuba.
As part of the festival, the 10th Young Cuban Film short film award will be presented on May 30 to Rosa Mariá Rodríguez for her film "La costurera," which deals with child abuse.
From the "special period" urban gardens, "organopónicos," also sprung up around the island and will be featured in a special event, "Urban Gardening in Cuban," on May 26 at 3:30 p.m.
The festival was created in cooperation with the Cuba Group of the 3rd World House Frankfurt, the Cuban Film Institute ICAIC and many other partners and supporters.
For detailed information, please visit <link http: www.cubafilm.de _blank>
Source: Ffm