The incentive scheme Go Cuba! for young, talented, independent filmmakers from Cuba created by World Cinema Amsterdam and in part made possible through the support of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs is already in its sixth year. In total, the fund has supported 54 film projects (35 short and 19 long films, including documentaries and feature films), and it has become widely known among young Cuban filmmakers. Many of the films the fund helped realise have been featured at various international film festivals.
This year we received a total of 51 applications: 27 for short film projects and 24 for full-length films. Again, the level of quality was high. Ultimately, the following five short and four long projects were selected:
Short
Tikrit - José Luis Aparicio Ferrera
La granja - Fernando Fraguel
Los cimarrones - Damián Sainz Eduardo
¿Cómo educar a un niño? - Gretel Marín
Espejo de agua - Indiana Díaz Caraballo
Long
Bongó Itá - Mayckell Pedrero Mariol
En la caliente - Fabien Pisani Alvarez
La ley invisible - Carlos Quintela, Heidi Hassan
Aristóteles Moore - Fabián Suárez
In this year, we have opted for a topical cross-section of what Cuban independent cinema has to offer, with a strong focus on socially relevant themes. It led to films by a lot of young female and Afro-Cuban film talents, as well as films by mid-career filmmakers who have already made a name for themselves internationally. Topics like the position of Cubans with Afro-Caribbean roots alongside (or combined with) issues such as gender and sexual preferences present a rather different than usual image of Cuba, be it one that Go Cuba! is keen to put into the limelight.
From all submissions, applications for two short fiction films and three short documentaries were selected, as well as applications for one feature film and three long documentaries.
As World Cinema Amsterdam's 2020 edition had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis, festival visitors will be able to attend screenings of the films from previous Go Cuba! rounds besides a large number of the 2020 selected projects at the next edition of WCA (19-28 August 2021).
