MADRID, Spain.- The artist Cuban-American Juliana Emilia Fusco Miyares, recognized worldwide as Coco Fusco, will premiere her feature film The eternal night (The eternal night) during the inauguration of the 15th edition of the Sharjah Biennial, to be held in the United Arab Emirates from February 7 to June 11, 2023.
Coco Fusco’s film tells the story of three young Cubans condemned for their beliefs and their creations: a poet recently arrived in prison, a young evangelical peasant and an actor who was accused of trying to assassinate Fidel Castro.
With a script by Enrique del Risco, it is based on the true story of the Cuban writer and former politician Néstor Díaz de Villegas, who in 1974 was sentenced to six years in prison for writing a poem and accused by the island government of “ideological diversionism”. ”. After spending five years in the Ariza prison, he was exiled to the United States.
the eternal night, 70 minutes, stars actors Luis Manuel Álvarez, Enmanuel Galbán and Joel Lara. The three belonged to Teatro el Público for years.
The direction of photography was in charge of David Leitner, also Cuban and resident in New York, who has been nominated for Oscars and Emmys. While the music belongs to Roberto Poveda.
According to the program of the Biennial, the feature film by Coco Fusco “reactivates and reimagines the political conflicts unleashed by the modern process of nation building.”
The Sharjah Biennale, organized by the Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF), welcomes more than 150 participants from around 70 countries, as well as more than 300 works of art and performances, music and film will be exhibited in more than 18 venues in five cities and towns of the emirate of Sharjah.
Fusco, who has a PhD in Art and Visual Culture from Middlesex University, has performed at events such as the Venice Biennale and the Next Wave Festival and has been awarded Herb Alpert Awards for the Arts and Latinx Artist Fellowship, among others.
In much of her creation and from performative actions where she exposes her own body, she addresses aspects related to identity, race, gender, history and Cuban exile.
