Sara Gómez’s One Way or Another 1977 Photo courtesy ICAIC
The Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC), founded in 1959 just months after the Cuban Revolution, aimed to create a new cinema ideology dedicated to the art and free from the capitalist world. Groundbreaking filmmakers emerged using the medium to re-tell memories and to explore their evolving reality, decolonizing Cuba with bold creative style and vision. In the 1960s, Cuban filmmakers found their own aesthetic, pushing beyond the influences of Europe and Hollywood while gaining international recognition. This selection of classics celebrates ways that they redefined memories, decolonized culture, and illuminated Cuba’s revolutionary dreams.
The Walker Cinema presents two recently restored, internationally acclaimed classics of Cuban Cinema: Lucía by Humberto Solás (1968) and Memories of Underdevelopment by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea (1968). Also on screen is Sara Gómez’ radical, romantic drama One Way or Another (1973), made to reflect the marginalized social realities of Havana shortly after the revolution and Alea’s early, rarely screened feature Death of a Bureaucrat (1966).
All films are in Spanish with English subtitles. Unless otherwise noted, tickets are $10 ($8 Walker members, students, and seniors). Buy tickets online or call the box office at 612-375-7600.
Presented in conjunction with Adiós Utopia.
Lucía
Three eras of Cuban history, three fierce heroines—all named Lucía. Made when the director was just 26, Humberto Solás’s epic tale is a feminist triptych spanning 100 years of struggle for Cuban independence. Blending romanticism and melodrama with touches of comedy, Solás uses distinct cinematic styles to portray each period of historical transformation and societal change. 1968, DCP, 160 minutes.
This film is a new 4K restoration — wet-scanned at a 4K resolution to eliminate and reduce any scratches. The new restoration of Lucía was featured at the annual 2017 Cannes Film Festival as a part of the World Cinema Project.
Restored by Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in association with Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). Restoration funded by Turner Classic Movies and the Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project.
Place: Walker Cinema
Time & Date: 7pm on Friday, January 26 & 2pm on Saturday, January 27
Price: $10 ($8 Walker Members)
Memories of Underdevelopment
(Memorias del subdesarrollo)
“A film about alienation that is wise, sad and often funny. Sergio is detached and wary, but around him is a hurricane of life…The result is hugely effective and moving, and it is complete in the way that very few movies ever are.” – Vincent Canby, The New York Times
In his stylistic tour de force, Tomás Gutiérrez Alea blends narrative fiction and documentary to get inside the head of an alienated, morally ambiguous intellectual driven by conflicting attitudes. The film explores a new reality on the streets of Havana, shortly after the Bay of Pigs invasion. 1968, DCP, 97 minutes.
This film is a new 4K restoration — wet-scanned at a 4K resolution to eliminate and reduce any scratches.
Restored by Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in association with Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). Restoration funded by the George Lucas Family Foundation and the Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project.
On Friday, February 9, join in for an introduction and post-screening discussion led by August Nimtz, Professor of Political Science and African American and African Studies at the University of Minnesota.
Place: Walker Cinema
Date: Friday, February 9 & Saturday, February 10
Time: 7pm
Price: $10 ($8 Walker Members)
One Way or Another
(De cierta manera)
The last film and celebrated masterpiece of Afro-Cuban filmmaker Sara Gómez, One Way or Another takes place in Havana in the 1960s. Intercutting documentary-style footage with a love story, Gómez creates an intimate portrait of a couple—Yolanda, a progressive school teacher, and Mario, a bus driver—exploring their struggles to develop their relationship amid a transforming society. 1977, 35mm, 78 minutes.
Preceded by Sara Gómez’s debut documentary short: Iré a Santiago. 1964, digital, 14 minutes.
Join in for an introduction and post-screening discussion by Leola Johnson, Associate Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at Macalester College.
Place: Walker Cinema
Date: Thursday, February 15
Time: 7pm
Price: $10 ($8 Walker Members)
Death of a Bureaucrat
(La muerte de un burócrata)
A young man contends with endless red tape after discovering that his uncle’s union card was buried with his body and the family can’t collect his pension. Part surrealist farce, part slapstick, Tomás Gutiérrez Alea’s black comedy is an absurdist send-up of government bureaucracy and remains a testament to his masterful satirical critique. 1966, 16mm, 85 minutes.
On Friday, February 23, join in for an introduction and post-screening discussion led by August Nimtz, Professor of Political Science and African American and African Studies at the University of Minnesota.
Place: Walker Cinema
Time & Date: 7pm on Friday, February 23 & 2pm on Saturday, February 24
Price: $10 ($8 Walker Members)
More in the Mediatheque
For more films from Cuba, visit the Bentson Mediatheque and select the Cuban Playlist, available during the month of February. The films include Salut Les Cubains by Agnès Varda, I’ll Go To Santiago by Sara Gómez, Sara Gómez: An Afro-Cuban Filmmaker (Dónde Está Sara Gómez?) by Alessandra Muller, and La Confesión by Coco Fusco.
Mediatheque Hours: Tuesday – Sunday, noon till museum close. Always free. Group or class reservations available. Schedule a Screening: contact movingimage@walkerart.org to reserve the Bentson Mediatheque for your group or class.