The Italian-Cuban film Baracoa, directed by Luis Ernesto Doñas, will have its national premiere this Friday in Havana at the Yara Cinema. Following a successful run at international film festivals and a warm reception from audiences.
The screening will be attended by the director, producers, production team, and cast. According to the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC in the Spanish acronym).
Moreover this “dramedy” road movie—Doñas’s debut feature—explores the bond between Felipe (played by renowned Italian actor Giancarlo Giannini). An Italian revolutionary who was a friend of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro. And his son, Pepe (Carlos Luis González), who has been shaped by homophobic prejudices.
Following his father’s death, Pepe and a doctor named Jimmy (Yadier Fernández) set out on a road trip from Havana to the island’s easternmost city. A journey that becomes a path toward profound personal transformation.
It is a film about love, friendship, and genuine, positive sentiments, Doñas told Prensa Latina. Noting that “this purity of feeling that comes across on screen is what, in a way, manages to connect with audiences.”
The director also described the work as a “return to the seed—to the first town ever founded in Cuba and to our very essence as Cubans.”
“Baracoa” arrives in theaters nationwide after winning the Audience Award in the Official Competition. As well as the award for Best Screenplay (written by Doñas and Filippo Ascione). At the 41st Trieste Ibero-Latin American Film Festival in Italy.
Additionally, at the 46th Havana International Festival of New Latin American Cinema last year. The film received the *Súmate* diversity award. As well as a special mention from the Agrarian University of Havana. It was screened out of competition at the Taormina Film Festival and was also presented at the Lucca Film Festival.
With cinematography by Lorenzo Casadio Vannucci, an original score by soprano Bárbara Llanes. Editing by Francesco Galli, the cast includes Italian actor Giovanni Giusto. Alongside Cuban actors Carlos Pérez Peña and Ana Gloria Buduén, among others. The filmis a co-production between Pointmedia Italia SRL and De La Huerta Producciones.
With information from Prensa Latina
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