NYWIFT Blog

NYWIFT-Live Recap: Cuban Women Filmmakers 2013 Showcase
ARVE Error: need id and provider

On March 14, NYWIFT sponsored a night of short films made by Cuban women filmmakers at the Tribeca Film Center, part of a weeklong showcase held at locations across NYC. 

The films:
Blanco Es Mi Pelo, Negra Mi Piel (White Is My Hair, Black Is My Skin) by Marina Ochoa
Derecho de Ser (The Right to Be) by Claudia Rojas
El Pez De La Torre Nada En El Asfalto (The Fish of the Tower Swims on the Asphalt) by Adriana Fernandez Castellanos
Pasajes Del Corazón Y La Memoria (Cherished Island Memories) by Gloria Rolando
Uno Al Otro (One Another) by Milena Almira

A Q&A moderated by Naomi Foner (Director, Very Good Girls) followed. Foner pointed out that while the films provided insight into the lives of Cubans, the most interesting aspect was that they showed how much of life is universal and not tied to culture.

During the Q&A, director Milena Almira shared that while it’s more difficult to make films as a woman in Cuba, that being a woman is a unique biological experience that cannot help but inform her art in a different way than for a man.

A few more highlights:

Uno Al Otro, a beautiful film reminiscent of video artist Vito Acconci, follows the romantic relationship of a young woman and a hearing impaired man. The film interviews the couple while showing the challenges in their relationship due to his disability, but also the inevitable conflicts between men and women.

A riveting documentary, Blanco Es Mi Pelo, Negra Mi Piel explores the life of 95-year-old María de los Reyes Castillo (Reyita), a family matriarch and a symbol of the changes that Cuba has gone through in the past 100 years.

In the black and white short film El Pez De La Torre Nada En El Asfalto, a man wrestles with his writer’s block as his wife complains about the heat in their cramped apartment and their son watches TV.

The Cuban directors showcased are all up-and-coming talents to watch. You can watch one of the short above; if you can catch the rest online or at a screening or festival, you won’t be disappointed. — MICHELE ST JOHN

PUBLISHED BY

nywift

nywift New York Women in Film & Television supports women calling the shots in film, television and digital media.

View all posts by nywift

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*

*

Related Posts

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Monique Gabriela Curnen

Welcome to NYWIFT, Monique Gabriela Curnen! Monique Gabriela Curnen is an actor and producer known for a string of critical and commercial successes, including Half Nelson, The Dark Knight, Contagion and Birth/Rebirth. While working with Warrington Hudlin at the Black Filmmaker Foundation, she started producing short films. She continued producing independently, including the Joe Holt short Noël, which sold to ShortsHD. She served as executive producer on the award-winning feature documentary, A Run For More (PBS, Amazon) directed by Ray Whitehouse. She’s currently in development on the narrative feature Sheila & the Punk Rock, written and directed by K. Lorrel Manning. Monique discusses the roots of her career, her experience working on large-scale productions, and how she overcomes challenges within these realms. Get to know her in our latest interview!

READ MORE

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Lindsey Lambert

Lindsey Lambert is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker originally from Austin, Texas. She works as a location scout for film and television in the NYC area, currently on Law & Order: Organized Crime. After receiving her Master’s Degree in Human Rights from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in the spring of 2022, she began directing and producing her debut feature documentary Teaching Social Studies about public school education and the anti-critical race theory laws in Texas. It is currently in production and she hopes the film will be completed by the summer of 2025. In our interview, she discusses her decision to go back to school, her work on the new Amazon Prime series Étoile, how to educate young people about our challenging history, and the most memorable location she's scouted to date. 

READ MORE

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Melanie Fox

Let's give a warm welcome to new NYWIFT member, Melanie Fox! Melanie Fox is a linguist who turned her passion for accents, dialects, presentations, and language learning into a thriving coaching business. Melanie empowers actors and public figures to speak clear, confident English through accent reduction, interview and presentation training. She also trains actors to master authentic English and Spanish dialects. She is a paid public speaker who helps her audiences "Hack into Language" and hosts a new podcast, "Hack That Accent." Melanie holds a Masters of Science degree in Linguistics from Georgetown University. She credits a lot of her inspiration to two semesters studying abroad at la Universidad de Salamanca in Spain. In our interview, she discusses how her work as a dialect coach spans multiple industries, her coaching success stories, and how she encourages clients to maintain their cultural authenticity while adjusting their presentation to match their business goals. 

READ MORE

Disney+ Celebrates National Pet Day with Heartwarming New Documentary “Pets” Directed by Bryce Dallas Howard

Disney+ is tugging at the heartstrings this National Pet Day with the premiere of its latest original documentary, Pets, debuting April 11. Directed by Bryce Dallas Howard, the film dives into the extraordinary relationships that exist between humans and their animals — no matter the species, no matter the place. In our exclusive interview, Bryce Dallas Howard shared how the collaboration with Imagine Documentaries — and her father Ron Howard — helped bring her vision to life. Along with aspects which will make audiences interested in watching even if they are not pet owners and more!

READ MORE
JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER
css.php