Gibara promotes film as cultural heritage

The promotion of restored films as cultural heritage was the topic for debate at the theoretical session of the Gibara International Poor Film Festival, which runs until April 19 in this coastal city of Holguín province.

The panel "Cinema in Danger: Challenges in the Preservation of Audiovisual Heritage" featured Luciano Castillo, winner of the 2025 Lucía de Honor Award; Elvira Rossell, director of the archives of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry; Susana Molina, director of the International Film School of San Antonio de los Baños; and Tania Delgado, president of the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema in Havana.

In his presentation, Castillo addressed the defense of restored films as a way to honor the work and lives of personalities from the world of cinema, and highlighted that to date they have recovered five films in collaboration with the Cuban Film Library.

Currently, we're seeking to win back the public through restorations like Death of a Bureaucrat and The Last Supper, as these films constitute a legacy of public distribution and the formation of critical opinion, he noted.

For her part, Elvira Rossell stressed the importance of embracing cinema within a legal and heritage framework that encompasses screening rooms, film studios, costumes, wardrobes and cameras, as an important part of the nation's cultural legacy.

Included in the event was the inauguration of the poster exhibition "100 Years of Puccini," by the creative project CartelOn in honor of the centenary of the composer Giacomo Puccini's death.

Yumey Besú, director of CartelON, commented on the exhibition's thematic connection to issues of gender and violence, aspects that have been central to her recent work.

The exhibition featured 34 works by 12 invited designers, each inspired by one of the operas produced by the prominent musician throughout his life.

The winning work is by Vladimir Pérez Vladez, who opened the exhibition with his piece entitled "Puccini Centenary."

The exhibition was supported by the Italian Embassy in Cuba and was part of the prelude to Italian Culture Week in Havana, in November 2024.