Cuban Documentary "Mijain" Wins Award at Sports Film Festival

The Cuban documentary "Mijain" has just received the Honorary Mention at the 44th edition of the International Sports Film Festival of Milano, Italy, thus adding a new recognition to its international journey through festivals and showcases.

The work directed by Rolando Almirante, Ángel Alderete, and Héctor Villar stood out among more than seventy titles in the recently concluded edition of this event, considered the most important internationally within the sports field.

Through its approach to the figure of Mijain López during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and his feat of winning this title for the fifth time, the documentary also covers part of the athlete's life, his relationship with his family—especially his mother—friends, and the community.

Within the tradition of Cuban cinema there are many titles that delved into aspects of the lives of other athletes, with which "Mijain" systematizes that tradition; at the same time, the work sustains other dialogues with the athlete's family, social, and cultural life, his dedication and commitment.

Another of the documentary's merits is that it manages to go beyond the discourse on the Olympic feat and delves into the human, into the relationship with coaches, into the long training days, and into that sacred place where memory, affections, and family come together.

The audiovisual includes fragments of the competition in Paris, while capturing the feelings of the family in Herradura—his hometown in Pinar del Río—and in Havana, thus proposing a triptych of locations and feelings expressed through interviews, dialogues, and emotions.

"Mijain" participated in the 46th edition of the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema in Havana, in the twentieth edition of the International Festival of Poor Cinema of Gibara, and has taken part in other festivals, showcases, and screenings in several countries.