Factoría de Cine Pobre plans to host a training workshop for creators from Cuba's five eastern provinces and Camagüey, aiming to complete a full project cycle at the upcoming Gibara International Poor Cinema Festival (FICGibara).

Sergio Benvenuto Solás, general coordinator of the initiative, explained in exclusive statements to the Cuban News Agency (ACN) that the workshop will focus on training participants to develop project dossiers—from written drafts to oral pitches—capable of being defended in national and international pitchings, including virtual sessions.

The coordinator added that the workshop will fit into the platform's annual cycle, which begins at each edition of FICGibara and concludes at the festival itself, ensuring twelve months of continuous work dedicated to strengthening the Factoría as a tool for cultural empowerment in eastern Cuba.

Benvenuto Solás indicated that this will mark the first time the activity takes place outside its usual venue in Gibara, Holguín. Moving the venue to San Pablo de Yao in Granma demonstrates a commitment to bringing film education to new territories and decentralizing Cuban audiovisual production in a region where accessing cooperation funds concentrated in Havana proves more difficult.

Osmanys Sánchez Arañó, an independent filmmaker and teaching coordinator for the course, specified that selecting this mountainous locality in Granma recognizes the legacy of Televisión Serrana, a benchmark in training prominent national directors, while reducing costs by utilizing local instructors.

Sánchez Arañó explained that the initiative aims to highlight this area of the country as a creative hub, as the region features settings, traditions, and voices underrepresented in national cinema.

The specialist emphasized that the selection process will prioritize inclusion and creative potential. Basic requirements stipulate being of legal age and residing in eastern Cuba or Camagüey, with no prior academic degrees or extensive curriculum vitae required, since the course's ultimate reward will be helping novice authors successfully complete their works.

The instructor confirmed that the pitching session—the public presentation of a film project before funding sources, institutions, and industry specialists—will take place during FICGibara, marking the culmination of the projects supported by the platform and enabling access to financing, coproduction, and distribution.

Founded in 2003 by Cuban filmmaker Humberto Solás, the Gibara International Poor Cinema Festival gave birth to this platform in 2024, which consolidated its operations in 2025 and will celebrate its third edition during the next festival, scheduled for April 2027.