Eduardo del Llano
Eduardo del Llano's creative works have many fans. They remember the formidable staging of the comedy group "Nos y Otros" (We and Others) in which he led.
His various novels, his hand as a film anthology co-writer, such as Alicia en el pueblo de Maravillas (Alice in Wonderland) directed by Daniel Díaz Torres, La vida es silbar y Madrigal, (Life is whistling and Madrigal) taken from Fernando Pérez and Perfecto amor equivocado (Perfect Wrong Love) by Gerardo Chijona among others.
In recent years, his leadership in controversial independent projects with Sex Machine Productions has generated pieces such as Monte Rouge, High tech, Photoshop, Homo sapiens and Aché and Brainstorm in addition to others that are a part of what has been called the "Nicanor Decalogue," by Nicanor O'Donnell, who is the central character within these short denunciations.
All that Llano does —who is also a university professor— is noticed, and the medium-length film Vinci, a production by the Cuban Institute of Art and Industrial Cinematography, has been no exception, puzzling some and amazing others in the country.
The play approaches the life of a not so well-known Renaissance creator, who at only 24 years old, suffered imprisonment in the superb city of Florence, along with two criminals. From there, Llano reflects on the service and application of art for humanity, just as the significance of beauty to ordinary souls. According to the author, the film's thesis is: "Discovering what art is, how it can be anything from a protection mechanism to a way of expressing your world view..."
The film's cast, which surely will premier during the next New Latin American Film International Festival —celebrated in December— is luxurious: Héctor Medina, Carlos Gonzalvo, Manuel Romero, Fernando Hechavarría, Roberto Viñas and the very own Eduardo del Llano. The music is by Argentinean Osvaldo Monte, who's worked in relevant films such as El lado oscuro del corazón (The Heart's Dark Side) and Cenizas del paraíso (Paradise's Ashes); and the internationally renowned Cuban painter Roberto Fabelo, is responsible for the pictorial, youthful world to which Leonardo gave expression as a means of survival in Florence's dungeon walls. And what better location to recreate this period's film than the imposing fortress San Carlos de la Cabaña's cells?
We will have to wait six months to see the result, but I can almost assure you that it will be an honest film, possibly controversial and even reflect on the vital time when da Vinci was imprisoned in Florence; perhaps also, it will give a fresh reflection on Cuba's contradictory reality, why not?
