MADRID, Spain.- The 72nd edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival, one of the most prestigious film events in Europe, will include a cycle dedicated to Cuban cinema entitled “On the other island.” This cycle, which is part of the Klasikoak section, will take place from September 20 to 28 and will feature 19 restored Cuban films produced between the 1960s and 1980s.
Organized by Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola (EQZE) in collaboration with the Basque Film Library, this cycle invites you to explore a key era of Cuban cinema through works that capture the social, cultural and political complexity of Cuba in that period. “On the Other Island” includes films by influential or censored filmmakers in Cuba such as Sara Gomez and Nicolás Guillén Landrián, and other emblematic ones such as Santiago Álvarez.
According to the festival website, Among the most notable films of the show are: In a waythe first feature film directed by a Cuban woman, Sara Gómez, which was presented in 1977 in the Barrios y Pueblos section of the San Sebastián Festival; Ociel of the Toa of Nicolas Guillen Landrian, The black one by Eduardo Manet and 79 springs by Santiago Alvarez.
Divided into five sessions, the cycle will be screened in the new cinema of the Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola, located in Tabakalera, an international centre for contemporary culture in San Sebastián.
Many of the films to be presented have never been seen before in Spain, which represents a unique opportunity for film buffs and film scholars.
The digital restoration of these works is the result of an international collaboration between various institutions, including the Vulnerable Media Lab at Queen’s University in Canada, the Arsenal-Institut für Film und Videokunst in Germany and the Institut National de l’Audiovisuel in France, together with Cuban entities.
