The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) in California, United States, will host the event “Cuban Cinema without Borders” from October 23 to November 16 of this year, according to the institution’s own website. According to the presentation note for the showcase...

According to the presentation note for the showcase, written by Cuban journalist and filmmaker Lázaro González, the series not only honors contemporary filmmakers but also pays tribute to the pioneer of Cuban cinema, Nicolás Guillén Landrián (1938–2003). González emphasized that Landrián, who suffered marginalization and exile due to state censorship, remains an emblematic figure for Cuban filmmakers facing similar challenges today.

He also stated that the series celebrates “INSTAR’s [International Institute of Artivism ‘Hannah Arendt’] invaluable curatorial practice by including many titles screened at the festival, and also honors Landrián’s legacy with West Coast premieres of his recently restored documentaries.”

The creation of the INSTAR Film Festival in 2019 by artist Tania Bruguera was a crucial moment for Cuban independent cinema. This festival, dedicated to supporting independent film production, especially in countries where freedom of expression is under threat, has provided an essential platform for Cuban filmmakers. 

The series also reflects on what scholar Ana López described in the 1990s as the cinema of “Greater Cuba,” a cinematographic corpus that seeks to reconstruct national history and identity both within and outside of exile, González wrote. 

The films to be presented—including the documentary Landrián by Ernesto Daranas and the fiction film La mujer salvaje by Alán González—not only address the theme of exile but also explore the symbolism of motherhood and the context of political and social unrest in Cuba.

“The series is a testament to the power of independent cinema to challenge and redefine the national narrative,” González stated.

This event is sponsored by the INSTAR Film Festival in collaboration with the Department of Film and Media at the University of California, Berkeley. The series also features the participation of prominent Cuban film professionals such as José Luis Aparicio Ferrera, Tania Bruguera, Luis Tejera from Altahabana Films, and Alfredo Calvino from Habanero Film Sales, among others.