Burjesta Theatre are happy to announce that we will be hosting, film critic and poet Fernando Leon Jacomino and photographer Sonia Amalguer who are visiting Britain from Cuba and are touring around showing three exceptional films from Cuba as well as a photographic exhibition of images of the land and its people.

They will be discussing the films and photographs and their relevance to Cuban society over two evening and one afternoon sessions between Wednesday 31st August and Saturday 3rd September.

The three films are:

‘La Bella del Alhambra’ –

Enrique Pineda Barnet’s 1989 film and Cuba’s entry for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars for that year. It tells the story the trials and tribulations of Esther a theatre actress at one of Havana’s top theatres as her rise to the top and personal life collide.

‘Los Dioses Rotos’ – (The Fallen Gods)

Directed by Ernesto Daramas, this film was Cuba’s candidate for the 2008 Oscars and tells the story of a young university professor, Laura who while researching the famous Cuban racketeer and pimp Alberto Yarini, who operated in the 1900s, finds herself entangled in present-day Havana’s dark side of prostitution and crime.

‘Fresa y Chocolate’ – (Strawberry and Chocolate)

Directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío this 1993 Oscar-nominated film (awarded Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Festival and Berlin Film Festival), tells the story of Diego, a cultivated, homosexual and sceptical young man, who falls in love with a young heterosexual communist full of prejudices and doctrinal ideas. ‘Fresa y chocolate’ is a coming-of-age story, told through the development of a growing friendship which overcomes incomprehension and intolerance.

Each of the three sessions is a separate event and costs £3 entry (£5 solidarity price) – pay on the door.

All sessions take place at The Casa.

Sonia Amalguer’s photographic exhibition will be on display at each session.

1st Session – Wednesday 31st August, 7pm

‘The Theatrical Environment’ – an overview of Cuban theatre as shown in film.

Film – ‘La Bella del Alhambra’

 

2nd Session – Friday 2nd September, 7pm

‘Sex, Racism and Marginalisation in Cuban Cinema’

Film – ‘Los Dioses Rotos’

 

3rd Session – Saturday 3rd September, 3pm

‘Emigration, Manners and Folklore’ – three unavoidable issues in Cuban society.

Film – ‘Fresa y Chocolate’

‘Cuba es mi marca’ – Photographic Exhibition by Sonia Amalguer –

A selection of images that reveal the ‘epic’ in everyday life, the joys and strength in adversity shown by the Cuban people.