Wed 4 Nov 2009
Professor Diane Soles of the Sociology Department at UW-Whitewater sees Cuban film taking a new direction. Dr. Soles is a specialist in Cuban film and has conducted research in the Cuban Film Institute in Havana. She offered her perspective on Cuban film past and present during our Latin America seminar on Nov. 4.
The Cuban Film Institute (Instituto cubano del arte y industria cinematograficas) was an early part of the new revolutionary state put in place under Fidel Castro in 1959. The institute did what it was designed to do. That is, it promoted and controlled a type of film that contrasted with Hollywood by challenging an audience to think, by focusing on the collective rather than the individual, and by bringing film to everyone including the poor. One example of films in the heyday of the institute in the 1960s were those by the late director Tomas Gutierrez Alea, such as “Memories of Underdevelopment” or the comedy “Death of a Bureaucrat”.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 when Cuba entered an economic crisis, the resources of the institute have collapsed and a new group of filmmakers rely on foreign funding. This means that many newer films operate farther outside the umbrella of the state. Two new directors and examples of their work are Pavel Giroud and his film “La edad de la peseta” and Alejandro Brugués and “Personal Belongings”.
November 8th, 2009 at 11:07 am
Diane Soles is a very knowledgeable woman on Cuba and the Cuban Film Institutes. Diane gave a lot of background information on Cuba and her own journey’s, which painted a clear picture on this “forbidden place.”
Cuba is a very different country from the United States in countless ways. One main difference is the film industry. In a United States movie, produced by Hollywood the outcome is very predictable. In almost every movie it ends with a happy predictable ending. The reason for this is because Hollywood and the United States have this image of a movie. When we attend, “we escape reality,” and do not want to deal with what could actually happen. Almost always you will find the movies with the best reviews are the one’s with a “happy ending.”
Cuba has a different outlook on their film industry. Their films have been proven that we do not live in a so-called “perfect world.” They do not charge a lot of money to attend a film, so attendance is relatively high. Cubans are also very passionate about their films. Diane said that during a movie, Cubans do not hold back on their emotions and may even stand up in the film and yell or shout.
Before 1990, Cuba showed movies from all over the world. The reason that Cuba showed different movies was because they were easy to import and the audience is much more “cosmopolitan” than in the United States. They also have many subtitles on their movies. In the United States, many people do not want to go and see a movie if they have to read subtitles.
Diane Soles showed various photos of her trips as well as video clips of some films made by the Cuban Film Industry. It was very evident that what she had told us about the films was very true.
My question for Diane was why she had not been back to Cuba since 2003?
Diane stated that it was because of the Bush Administration. The reason for this was because the Bush Administration had put a hold on travelers from the United States because they thought an evil government ran it.
I related Diane Soles back to Alma Guillermoprieta. Alma talked about how Mexico should stay in its authentic culture and should not conform to United States customs. I feel like the United States and Cuba feel the same way. The United States is independent as well as Cuba is independent. Cuba has its own way about its film industry and wants to be unique from the United State’s Film Industry.
November 9th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
My question for Diane Soles was how many times have you been to Cuba?