Cuba Will Continue Making Cinema

"Resistance is one of our greatest virtues, but above all, the capacity to create," emphasized Tania Delgado Fernández, director of the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema, this Thursday at the Charles Chaplin Theater in Havana during the opening ceremony of the 46th edition. She noted that 2,051 works were submitted—1,634 films, 297 scripts, and 120 posters.

During the evening, Delgado Fernández recognized the value of cinema as a transformative force in societies and as a bastion of the identities of all peoples. She affirmed that the festival remains a space celebrating the diversity, creativity, and cultural strength of our region.

The musical welcome was provided by the group Espirales, consisting of Rodrigo García on piano, Tania Hasse on violin, Olivia Rodríguez on double bass, and percussionists Alejandro Aguiar and Jesús Estrada on drums. They performed Estrellita by Mexican composer Manuel Ponce; En busca de un espacio, Séptimo septiembre, and Luna en calma by Rodrigo García; En do pa' que no na' by Ernesto Oliva; and Espiral by Aldo López-Gavilán.

One of the most emotional moments of the night was the presentation of the Coral de Honor to Cristian Calónico, director of Churubusco Studios, an essential reference in the seventh art of the region and the world. The award recognized 80 years of cinematic and cultural work by the Mexican institution.

Delgado Fernández recalled that precisely on December 4th, the Foundation of New Latin American Cinema was created—another poignant moment of the occasion. It was highlighted that the Glauber Rocha screening room at the Quinta Santa Bárbara in La Lisa, headquarters of the Foundation—the former residence of Flor Loynaz and where Tomás Gutiérrez Alea filmed his movie Los sobrevivientes—reopened its doors today.

Alexis Triana, president of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry, emphasized that this festival will continue to be an event worthy of our people's resilience. Celebrated amid numerous difficulties, it holds special significance this year by honoring its founder, filmmaker Alfredo Guevara, on his centenary. "Cuba will continue making cinema."

A heartfelt tribute was paid to Guevara—a revolutionary fighter, recognized intellectual, and founder of the Cinemateca de Cuba, an institution celebrating its 65th anniversary—by screening an audiovisual piece exploring essential aspects of his work.

The presence of National Music Prize winner José María Vitier was sublime. He performed some of his musical pieces composed for cinema, offering the audience an opportunity to recall emblematic films of Cuban cinematography.

Before the screening of the Argentine film Belén—introduced by its protagonists—the music video for the song Corazón de un país by Nelson Valdés, directed by Roly Peña and Alejandro Pérez, was presented.

Until the coming December 14th, another opportunity opens to debate, dialogue, exchange, reflect, and appreciate Latin American reality through cinema.