Photo: Daimy Peña

Filmmakers Discuss Challenges and Strategies of Audiovisual Creation

The courtyard of the Hotel Plaza Colón, enveloped in warmth and timely debate. Became the epicenter of cinematic dialogue this Thursday during the current audiovisual program of the Gibara International Festival of Low-Budget Cinema.

Moderated by journalist Rubén Ricardo Infante, Cuban and international filmmakers shared experiences. Revealed their creative processes, and discussed the various strategies they face today in bringing their stories to the screen.

The panel brought together filmmakers Alexander Dieppa, Rolando Almirante, Damián Pérez Téllez, Raúl Ernesto Gutiérrez, and Ananda Oliva, in an exchange marked by social awareness, a humanist perspective, and a commitment to contemporary reality.

One of the most significant moments of the afternoon was dedicated to the Cuban premiere of the documentary “In the Name of Love,” a work born out of the International Documentary Film Workshop taught by the prestigious professor Belkis Vega at the International Film and Television School (EICTV) in San Antonio de los Baños.

Alexander Dieppa, one of its creators, reflected on the impact of this experience:

“It’s worth saying quite frankly that for me and the filmmakers of this documentary. It was a surprise to find a center like Quisicuaba in San Antonio de los Baños. There, we discovered the possibilities that this specific geographic space offered us to portray a conflict that is universal and deeply rooted in many societies: the care of people who have lived on the streets.”

For his part, the renowned documentary filmmaker Rolando Almirante shared details about his most recent exploration of the Cuban five-time Olympic champion through his film “Mijaín.” The filmmaker explained that his years of close collaboration with the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER) have brought him close to the lives of numerous sporting legends. But this project held a particular mystique during the ebony giant’s preparation for the Paris Olympics.

“The magic happened during the first interview,” Almirante recounted. “I said something that made him smile, and then I assured him that when you smile, you return to your childhood. He was delighted, and I thought, ‘Yes, this will be possible.’ I’m not a sports journalist or a specialist on the subject. What I find interesting is the human being behind it all.”

Conceived under the mystique of guerrilla filmmaking, the work was developed entirely independently and self-financed. An effort that the filmmaker himself praised when explaining that he made the film without any institutional support and with his own money. Crowning that sacrifice with its competition at the Havana Film Festival and its current presentation in this exchange space.

The panel closed with the presentation of “Nommal,” a project that explores the limits of mental health and creation in the digital age. Its protagonist, Raúl Ernesto Gutiérrez, recalled how his initiative “Impro Music Solo” was born as personal therapy after suffering a severe addiction to the social network Facebook that plunged him into depression.

Also to overcome this challenge, family support was crucial. His daughter, Ananda Oliva, more than took on the role of director of photography for the documentary: “I really think it was very complicated to approach this from a photographic perspective. But I was already used to working with the type of camera we used and helping my dad with these kinds of audiovisual projects. I love having had the opportunity to support him,” the young filmmaker concluded.

The event reaffirmed that, beyond technological or financial resources, the driving force behind contemporary Cuban audiovisual production remains the urgent need to tell stories with a profound ethical sense and raw emotion.

By: Daimy Peña Guillén

Radio Angulo
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