A recent documentary about the popular group "Los Aldeanos".
Cuba would like to think it has a movie industry. The government agency responsible for overseeing this industry even has the rather pompous name of the Cuban Institute of Art and Film Industry (initials ICAIC in Spanish).
However, even when the ICAIC’s budget was at its highest, only 12 movies were produced annually, a low number when compared to other Latin American nations.
The topics were usually historical or political, with heavy ideological leanings, and a few poor literary adaptations of great Cuban Works, like “Cecilia", directed by Humberto Solas. The movies were often corny historical epics which no one really took seriously.
Today there is a true independent cinema in Cuba: there are independent producers and directors that don’t rely on the government for funding, and there is more to this movement than just the development of new technologies.
New independent works can easily go underground because of the proliferation of CDs, DVDs, or flash drives that are the medium for these new works. Don’t forget that Cuba does not allow the free exchange of information.
The documentary genre in particular has experienced a boom in recent years. These filmmakers have been able to tell stories previously considered taboo, covering themes such as homosexuality and youth culture (“emo”, “rasta”, etc.).
A recent documentary was about the popular group Los Aldeanos, describing their discography and politics (which doesn’t exactly align with that of the ruling party). This doc was recently shown in the National Exhibit of New Directors, which in recent years has had to make room for independent filmmakers.
The reality is that Cuba is experiencing a boom in filmmaking that doesn’t hew to the ideological or cultural norms of the ruling political class, but is instead charting its own course.
