Cuba Hosts Its First Portuguese-Language Film Festival

The event is a point of recognition and dialogue with the Cuban people through cinematic proposals.

Cuba's very first Film Festival of Portuguese Language was launched on Wednesday with the exhibition of "The Flamenco's Last Flight."

Directed by João Ribeiro, the film is based on the novel of the same name written by Mia Couto. The story is based on research about the death of five soldiers due to an explosion after several years of civil war.

The film is the result of a series of feature-length films produced by young and experimental film directors from Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guine Bissau, Portugal and East Timor. The aim of the production is to underscore the common cultural heritage of all participants.

Cuba's first Film Festival of Portuguese Language coincides with the commemorations of the International Day of Portuguese Language, which takes place on Friday.

According to Natividade Lemos, the culture adviser for the Portuguese Embassy in Havana, the film festival carries a message of peace and solidarity and seeks unity in our differences while, at the same time, values the traditions of each participating nation.

The event is a point of recognition and dialogue with the Cuban people through cinematic proposals that reflect different views from seven different cultural landscapes. All are based on the sharing of the Portuguese language.

According to the Cuban organizer of the Cinemateca, Antonio Mazon, the festival is an opportunity to view films never seen before on the island and become acquainted with different contexts, concerns, and histories. He added that it provides audiences with a chance to partake in a different type of cinema, one that's usually silenced by the predominance of large film companies.