TCubans are crazy about cinema. They act as if movies were their own lives, they share a mixture of adoration and suffering about them; women cry and men get lumps in their throats; they comment on them passionately, argue with the screen and even dance in the aisles. They are also severe and knowledgeable critics, especially about Cuban films.

At the old Tacón Theater in Havana on January 24, 1897, children and adults were astonished witnesses of the first movie projection in Cuba. It was a simple program prepared by Gabriel Veyre, a representative of the Lumiére company. On that day, images taken from reality were projected on a white sheet. At that moment, cinema probably seemed like a passing fad, rather than a guest who had come to stay.

During the first six decades of the 20th century there were virtually no movies made in Cuba, and the screens were filled with features from Argentina, France, Italy, Mexico and the United States, and the only option for Cuban actors and directors was to participate in the sporadic and often poor quality movie productions of those countries. It was not until the mid-'50s when a group emerged in Cuba determined to established a truly national cinema.

Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Julio García Espinosa, Alfredo Guevara and other young intellectuals, linked to the Nuestro Tiempo Cultural Society, were the forerunners of this national will. Some of them traveled to Italy to take study at the Centro Sperimentale in Roma, where Gabriel García Márquez was a fellow student.

Cuban cinema was only able to find its own road, with state support and good prospects, after March 1959, when - amid the political and social impact of the revolutionary triumph - the government enacted its first cultural law: the creation of the Cuban Institute of Cinematic Arts and Industry (ICAIC), headed by Alfredo Guevara.

That decision marked the consolidation of a national cinematography. A changing society, with its inner contradictions, virtues, hopes and realizations and search for justice, were captured on film in all their many facets.

Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Humberto Solás, Pastor Vega and Santiago Álvarez, among others, established the foundation of Cuban cinema, which soon became one of the favorites worldwide. Film productions like Lucía, Memorias del subdesarrollo (Memories of Underdevelopment) , Retrato de Teresa (Portrait of Teresa), La bella del Alhambra (The Belle of the Alhambra) and Fresa y Chocolate (Strawberry and Chocolate) have received prestigious prizes in international cinema festivals throughout these years. The latter, co-directed by Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío, was nominated for an Oscar in the category of best foreign film.

The Cuban documentary movement was strengthened with Santiago Álvarez' work, in which pieces like Now,Hanoi martes 13 (Hanoi, Tuesday the 13th) and 79 primaveras (79 Springs) took the prevailing role in the creation of truly revolutionary documentaries. Likewise, the Elpidio Valdés animated films had an influence on the formation of positive values among Cuban children. These short and feature-length cartoons have made a significant contribution to this genre, contrasting sharply with the U.S. films of this type that have traditionally invaded the Cuban child's audiovisual universe.

The celebration, since 1979 in Havana, of the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema has opened a decisive space for the film industry of the Third World countries, especially Latin America. Each December movies flood the screens not only in Havana, but in other cities as well, demonstrating the validity of this cinema which reflects the realities of Latin America and other parts of the world.

The Cuban film industry also suffered the strong impact of the '90s economic crisis, bit it continued some of its own productions and other co-productions, among them Las profecías de Amanda (The Prophesies of Amanda), La vida es silbar (Life's a Whistle), Un paraíso bajo las estrellas (A Paradise Under the Stars) and Hacerse el sueco (Playing Dumb). The Cuban film industry, its actors and filmmakers are still acclaimed and receive awards in international festivals for their relevant works and performances.

In recent years, Cuba has established services utilized by many Latin American production companies, offered by ICAIC's Production House, whose highly qualified personnel, experienced film directors, brilliant actors and actresses and competitive prices are all ready for lend a hand.

(Taken from: Cubasí)