Films In Spanish

AFRO-CUBA: YESTERDAY & TODAY

AFRO-CUBA: YESTERDAY & TODAY

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Two exciting, colorful films spotlight the African roots of Cuba's culture by focusing on two legendary artists -- Rumbero Papa Montero and Filmmaker Sara Gomez -- in this unique box set.

THE LAST RUMBA OF PAPA MONTERO / LA ULTIMA RUMBA DE PAPA MONTERO

Get ready to rumba! The life of Cuba s last great rumbero is detailed in THE LAST RUMBA OF PAPA MONTERO, a bold story that captures Cuban traditions and culture through beautiful imagery, sensual music, and the most scorching Latin dance ever invented. Afro-Cuban mythology serves as the force behind the narrative as mythic figures guide the characters through the events of the story.

| Cuba/Martinique | 1992 | 52 mins | docu-drama in Spanish with English subtitles | Octavio Cortazar, Dir. |

“Montero is a celebration of rumba as heart and soul for a colorful Cuban landscape." - SLANT

 

SARA GOMEZ: AN AFRO-CUBAN FILMMAKER

Acclaimed filmmaker Sara Gomez comes to life in the rich, multilayered documentary SARA GOMEZ: AN AFRO-CUBAN FILMMAKER. Though trained in ethnography, Gomez became the first female Cuban filmmaker. Her background shaped her films, which reflect her interests in Afro-Cuban cultural traditions and women s issues. Friends and family members recall her talent, intelligence, and generosity. Ultimately SARA GOMEZ is a love story between Sara and her husband (filmmaker Germinal Hernandez), Sara and her family, and Sara and her culture.

| Cuba/Switzerland | 2005 | 76 min | documentary in Spanish with English subtitles | Alessandra Muller, Dir. |

"[SARA GOMEZ] is an extremely important documentary.... " - Kwame Dixon, SCOPE

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ANGELICA
ANGELICA
ANGELICA
ANGELICA
ANGELICA
ANGELICA
ANGELICA
ANGELICA

ANGELICA

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ANGELICA

Angelica, after a long absence from Puerto Rico, returns home when her father, Wilfredo, suffers a stroke. This unexpected return and her father's illness force Angelica to re-evaluate her relationship with her mother and family members who don't accept her because of her skin color. She must face herself and discovers that she does not know who she is. After her father's death, Angelica must decide whether to return to the comfort of her previous life, dissatisfied, but secure, or set on an adventurous path to rediscover herself as an independent, modern, strong, black, and Puerto Rican woman.


Directed by Marisol Gómez-Mouakad, Puerto Rico, 2016, 100min, Drama, English & Spanish w/English subtitles

"Purposely challenging the Eurocentric beauty standards that blatantly plague Latin America on and off screen, Puerto Rican director Marisol Gómez-Mouakad sets out to tell the story of an empowered Afro-Latina fighting colorism at home in her debut feature Angélica." ~ Remezcla

People talk about racism and sexism in the U.S.,” Gómez-Mouakad explains. “They may not do much, but in talking about it they are at least addressing the problem. In Puerto Rico — and across the Caribbean and Latin America — there is a lot of denial. If you do talk about the issues, you are accused of being over sensitive. But words have power and words can hurt.” ~ director Marisol Gómez-Mouakad

"In addition to the theme of racism, the film touches upon the implications of machismo in a patriarchal society from the perspective of women." ~ Repeating Islands 

"Another glorious, glorious portrait on race and the roles women play—by pressure, by tradition, by choice. " ~ Guilie Castillo Oriard

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BLACK MEXICANS / LA NEGRADA

BLACK MEXICANS / LA NEGRADA

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Black Mexicans Trailer Eng Sub - ArtMattan Films from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

THE BLACK MEXICANS / LA NEGRADA

DIRECTED BY JORGE PEREZ SOLANO
MEXICO / 2018 / SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 104 MIN
SYNOPSIS

Critically acclaimed drama Black Mexicans / La Negrada by Jorge Pérez has recently been acquired by Artmattan Productions!

Black Mexicans / La Negrada is the first Mexican feature film about the Afro-Mexican community, filmed entirely with people from different towns around the Costa Chica in Oaxaca.

Among the black people in the Costa Chica in Oaxaca, it is socially accepted that a man lives with more than one woman. Juana and Magdalena share Neri’s love, they both know that this situation is hurting them. Juana will have to die in order to show Magdalena a new path for her life.

In Mexico, the afro communities represents only 1% of the total population. They have never been recognized as an ethnic group, nation or culture, suffering discrimination as an outcast group. LA NEGRADA is the first Mexican fiction movie filmed entirely in one of those black communities, with local people, no professional actors. An effort to give them voice and make them visible.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Jorge Perez Solano
 

GENRES

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BLACKS IN EUROPE

BLACKS IN EUROPE

Regular price $445.00
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Two documentaries that explore the life of black people in Europe. GURUMBÉ: AFRO-ANDALUSIAN MEMORIES is a documentary that explores the contribution of Africans to Spain from the 15th to the 18th  centuries.THE BLACK MOZART IN CUBA celebrates the The Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a remarkable man who lived in France in the 18th century.

GURUMBE

Flamenco is synonymous with Spanish culture. Yet, since its inception, theorists have sidelined the fundamental contribution of Afro-Andalusians to this art form. As the black population began to diminish in Spain in the late 19th century, so too did their contribution to this extraordinary art form. In Gurumbé: Afro-Andalusian Memories, their story is finally told.
Directed by M. Angel Rosales, 2016, Spain/Mexico/Portugal/Senegal, documentary, 72min, Spanish and Portuguese w/ English subtitles.

 

 

BLACKS MOZART IN CUBA

Joseph Boulogne, Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799), became one of the most remarkable figures of the 18th century. He influenced the music and political life of his time. He was a genius composer and conductor, a virtuoso violinist, the best fencer in Europe, as well as the first black general in the French army.

Directed by Steve James, Stephanie James, 2008, 52 min, Guadeloupe, Documentary, English, French, Spanish with English subtitles.

 

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GURUMBÉ: AFRO-ANDALUSIAN MEMORIES (GURUMBÉ. CANCIONES DE TU MEMORIA NEGRA)

GURUMBÉ: AFRO-ANDALUSIAN MEMORIES (GURUMBÉ. CANCIONES DE TU MEMORIA NEGRA)

Regular price $395.00
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Gurumbe Trailer - ArtMattan Films from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

GURUMBÉ: AFRO-ANDALUSIAN MEMORIES

DIRECTED BY M. ÁNGEL ROSALES
SPAIN, MEXICO, PORTUGAL, AND SENEGAL / 2016 / SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUTITLES / 72 MIN


SYNOPSIS

Flamenco is synonymous with Spanish culture.
Yet, since its inception, theorists have sidelined the fundamental contribution of Afro-Andalusians to this art form.

Commercial exploitation of the American colonies brought hundreds of Africans to Spain to be sold as slaves, forming a population which, over time, managed to gain space in a society wrought with racial prejudices. Music and dance were a fundamental part of their expression and the most important affirmation of their identity. As the black population began to disappear from Spain in the late 19th century, so too did their contribution to this extraordinary art form. In Gurumbe: Afro-Andalusian Memories, their story is finally told.

"There are a number of musical performances in Gurumbe, but the tone of the film is surprisingly measured, authoritative, and at times something close to academic. As a result, it is highly credible and convincing." - j.b. spins
Read Full Review HERE

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: M. Ángel Rosales

 

GENRES

  • Documentary 
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KAFE NEGRO: CUBA & THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION
KAFE NEGRO: CUBA & THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION
KAFE NEGRO: CUBA & THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION
KAFE NEGRO: CUBA & THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION

KAFE NEGRO: CUBA & THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION

Regular price $395.00
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Kafe Negro Trailer from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

Kafe Negro: Cuba & The Haitian Revolution is a film that explores the social, economic & historical ramification of the Haitian Revolution on Cuba.

Kafe Negro tells the story of migrations around a small grain that became the second most important raw material on the global market. This film tells the story of the waves of migration of Haitian workers who, over time, profoundly transformed the culture and demographics of Cuba and developed coffee growing on the island.

Directed by Mario Delatour | Cuba & Haiti | 52min | 2020 | Documentary | French and Spanish with English subtitles

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LA PLAYA D.C.

LA PLAYA D.C.

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LA PLAYA D.C. 

DIRECTED BY JUAN ANDRES ARANGO GARCIA
COLOMBIA/BRAZIL/FRANCE / 2012 / SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 90 MIN

 

SYNOPSIS

Tomas,an Afro-Colombian teenager who fled the country's Pacific coast pushed out by the war, faces the difficulties of growing up in a city if exclusion and racism. When Jairo, his younger brother and closest friend disappears, Tomas plunges in the streets of the city. His search becomes an initiatory journey that compels him to face his past and to leave aside the influence of his is brothers in order to find his own identity. Through this journey, Tomas reveals a unique perspective of a vibrant and unstable city that, like Tomas, stands on the threshold between what once was and what might be.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Juan Andres Arango Garcia
Starring: Luis Carlos Guevara
Starring: Jamés Solís
Starring: Andrés Murillo
 

GENRES

  • Drama 
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LA ULTIMA RUMBA DE PAPA MONTERO (THE LAST RUMBA OF PAPA MONTERO)

LA ULTIMA RUMBA DE PAPA MONTERO (THE LAST RUMBA OF PAPA MONTERO)

Regular price $295.00
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LA ULTIMA RUMBA DE PAPA MONTERO (THE LAST RUMBA OF PAPA MONTERO) 

DIRECTED BY OCTAVIO CORTAZAR 
CUBA AND MARTINIQUE / 1992 / SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 52 MIN

SYNOPSIS

A fascinating film on the rhythmic dance genre known as Rumba, La Ultima Rumba de Papa Montero dances around the life of Papa Montero, one of the famous rumberos of Cuba, assassinated during carnival. A discovery of Cuban traditions and every day life told through beautiful images, sensual music and dance. The use of Afro-Cuban mythology is the force behind the characters as orishas guide the characters' fate.

 

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Nick Hughes
Starring: Eric Bridges Twahirwa
Starring: Cleophas Kabasita 
Starring: Davis Kagenza 
 

GENRES

  • Docu-drama 
  • DVD Afro-Cuba: Yesterday and Today which also includes Sara Gomez: An Afro-Cuban Filmmaker.
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MALUALA

MALUALA

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MALUALA 

DIRECTED BY SERGIO GIRAL
CUBA / 1979 / SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 95 MIN

SYNOPSIS

Maluala takes us into a palenque, a settlement of escaped slaves hidden somewhere in Cuba's eastern mountains, where discord is sown between black "kings" by clever subversives working for the Spanish government.

"Sergio Giral is the best known of the Black Cuban directors and his previous films were historical observations of the period of slavery in Cuba, the gradual rise of rebellion against colonial traditions, and the ultimate freedom that resulted. Maluala is the most striking addition to this genre. The action takes place during the last century in the region of Maluala. Gallo, the black chieftain, together with his cohort, Coba, present a petition for land and liberty to the colonial government. Governor Escudero offers liberty if the rebellious villages will be dismantled and their men offer themselves in surrender. He promises that they will be freed shortly thereafter. Three chieftains agree, but Gallo and Coba refuse... Giral has mounted Maluala with colorful ritual and acting. Samuel Claxton, as Gallo, is highly stylized in the heroic tradition. It is an absorbing adventure film wrought from historical events which appear violent, but Giral constantly implants into every image the necessity for unity among people in order to combat man's seemingly casual desire to subjugate mankind, in the struggle for power and undefined ambition." 
~ /San Francisco Film Festival, 1980/

"The historically lucid intrigues of Maluala (1979), where the Afrocentric leadership of fugitive palenque communities is pitted against each other COINTELPRO-style by Spanish colonists, is one of those Cuban films that were forged in a righteous, red-hot ferment but still found the courage and wit to ask questions about the society around them." ~ Gary Dauphin, The Village Voice

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Sergio Giral
Starring: Samuel Claxton
Starring: Adolfo Llauradó
Starring: Raúl Pomares
 

GENRES

  • Historical Drama 
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MESTIZO

MESTIZO

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MESTIZO 

DIRECTED BY MARIO HANDLER 
VENEZUELA / 1989 / SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES  / 82 MIN

SYNOPSIS

The action takes place in a village on the Venezuelan coast, a place of fishermen and big haciendas. Jose Ramon, son of a white aristocrat and a humble black fisher-women, is trying to define his own identity while dealing with social and sexual conflicts, power, culture, the law, and the impossible relationship he has with both his parents.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Mario Handler
Starring: Marcos Moreno
Starring: Zezé Motta
Starring: Aldo Tulian
 

GENRES

  • Drama 
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PLACIDO, THE BLOOD OF THE POET

PLACIDO, THE BLOOD OF THE POET

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PLACIDO, THE BLOOD OF THE POET 

DIRECTED BY SERGIO GIRAL 
CUBA / 1986 / SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 96 MIN

SYNOPSIS

Placido portraits the dramatic story of Gabriel de la Concepcio Valdes (Placido), a mulatto Cuban poet accused of leading a conspiracy against the Spanish colonial government. Preoccupied by the development of Afro-Hispanic artist and craftsmen of the mid XIX century, Placido was executed after living a short and controversial life as a man between two races and between a cruel reality and a dream of freedom.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Sergio Giral
 

GENRES

  • Drama 
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ROSA CHUMBE

ROSA CHUMBE

Regular price $345.00
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ROSA CHUMBE

DIRECTED BY JONATAN RELAYZE
PERU / 2015 / SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 75 MIN

SYNOPSIS

Critically acclaimed Rosa Chumbe is a rare film from Peru where the multiculturalism and multiracialism of Peruvian society is present everywhere.

Rosa is an indigenous mature police officer with both a gambling and a drinking problem. She lives with her daughter Sheila, who has a little baby. One day, after a big fight between them, Sheila steals her mother's savings and storms out of the house leaving her baby behind. Rosa is forced to spend some time with her grandson. Something changes inside her heart of stone. However, everything takes a wrong turn one night. Only a miracle can save her.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Jonatan Relayze
Starring: Liliana Trujillo
Starring: Cindy Díaz
Starring: Daysi Ontaneda
 

GENRES

  • Drama 
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SARA GOMEZ: AN AFRO-CUBAN FILMMAKER

SARA GOMEZ: AN AFRO-CUBAN FILMMAKER

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SARA GOMEZ: AN AFRO-CUBAN FILMMAKER 

DIRECTED BY ALESSANDRA MULLER
CUBA AND SWITZERLAND / 2005 / SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 76 MIN

SYNOPSIS

Sara Gomez, An Afro-Cuban Filmmaker is a rich, multilayered documentary about Afro-Cuban director Sarah Gomez. Born in 1943, she studied literature, piano, and Afro-Cuban ethnography before becoming the first female Cuban filmmaker. A woman of great intelligence, independence and generosity, she was a revolutionary filmmaker with intersecting concerns about the Afro-Cuban community and the value of its cultural traditions, women's issues, and the treatment of the marginalized sectors of society. Through archival footage of her works and interviews with her children and husband Germinal Hernandez, cast members of her best-know film De cierta manera,as well as colleagues and friends, we get closer to a filmmaker who invented new landscapes and brought together opposite worlds.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Alessandra Muller
Starring: Sara Gómez
 

GENRES

  • Documentary
  • Part of 2-set DVD Afro-Cuba: Yesterday and Today which also includes The last Rumba of Papa Montero.
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Sugar Cane Malice / MAL DE CAÑA
Sugar Cane Malice / MAL DE CAÑA
Sugar Cane Malice / MAL DE CAÑA
Sugar Cane Malice / MAL DE CAÑA
Sugar Cane Malice / MAL DE CAÑA
Sugar Cane Malice / MAL DE CAÑA
Sugar Cane Malice / MAL DE CAÑA
Sugar Cane Malice / MAL DE CAÑA

Sugar Cane Malice / MAL DE CAÑA

Regular price $395.00
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SUGAR CANE MALICE / MAL DE CAÑA
 
A documentary about the working conditions of Haitian workers in one of the largest sugar cane plantations in the world, located in the Dominican Republic and belonging to the Fanjul Family, one of the most powerful families in America.
 

When Maria’s husband died, she was told to either leave the sugarcane plantation or to work in the only existent job: cutting and planting cane.

She decided to work in exchange for a miserable wage and a rudimentary barrack she and her five children call home. With that, she was accepting a precarious life without electricity, drinkable water and sanitary services. This is how people are stuck in a house provided by the Company, ensuring that no other basic service neither civil rights are provided, maintaining people in a life of misery. The vast extension of a sugarcane plantation in Dominican Republic offers this deal to thousands of Haitian workers. Some struggle to leave – like Maria’s daughter, with few chances of working in a hotel by the coast. Some others are forced to leave – like Leidy and her baby, when her father-in-law retires after 50 years of work. Yet, some others – like Yudelka and Telemin – organize and try to change the miserable situation everyone is living in the cane fields. They are an obstacle that hinders the functioning of the great machine that is the Plantation.

Directed by Juan A. Zapata, Dominican Republic/Spain, 2021, 76min, Documentary, Spanish w/English subtitles

 Sugar Cane Malice is the third film from director [Juan A.] Zapata, a native of the Dominican Republic, who is also an architect and visual artist. Both sensibilities are on display in Sugar Cane Malice, which pays particular attention to the built environment of the workers, and contrasts it through a series of helicopter (or drone) shots with modern construction in the island’s cities and the luxurious beach resorts that are beloved of tourists. He also finds beauty even in the sugar cane fields where these workers labor for the benefits of others. Above all, he respects the dignity of his subjects, who haven’t let their difficult lives become their only story." ~ Sarah Boslaugh

AWARDS

FULL FRAME Documentary Film Festival 2021
Official Competition 

Festival des Libertés 2021
Official Competition 

EATSA Art & Tourism is an International Film Festival 2021
Official Competition 

SOMCINEMA Festival (Spain) 2021
Official Competition 

Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam 2021
Official Competition

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SUSANA BACA; MEMORIA VIVA

SUSANA BACA; MEMORIA VIVA

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SUSANA BACA: MEMORIA VIVA

DIRECTED BY MARC DIXON
PERU ND BELGIUM / 2003 / SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 54 MIN

SYNOPSIS

Susana Baca is not only a champion in the performance and preservation of Afro-Peruvian heritage, but also an elegant singer whose shimmering voice sings of love, loss and life. Susana and her husband Ricardo Pereira have founded the Instituto Negrocontinuo “Black Continuum” in Lima, a spirited facility for the exploration, expression, and creation of Black Peruvian culture. While Baca has dedicated herself to researching and performing virtually all forms of Afro-Peruvian folklore, it is the lando that has become her trademark. This slow to mid-tempo, highly evocative mix of Spanish, Indigenous and African rhythms has become what the son is to Cuba, or the samba to Brazil--the lando is the sound of Black Peru.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Marc Dixon
 

GENRES

  • Musical Documentary
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THE ESMERALDAS BEACH
THE ESMERALDAS BEACH
THE ESMERALDAS BEACH
THE ESMERALDAS BEACH
THE ESMERALDAS BEACH
THE ESMERALDAS BEACH
THE ESMERALDAS BEACH
THE ESMERALDAS BEACH

THE ESMERALDAS BEACH

Regular price $395.00
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The Esmeraldas Beach Trailer  from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

THE ESMERALDAS BEACH 

In today’s Ecuador, the black population, the descendants of enslaved Africans, continue to experience strong racial and social discrimination. Yet people in the community still strive to value their specific culture and transmit the rebellious memory of their ancestors who fought for freedom. The Es­meraldas Beach sets out to expose the invisibility of Afro-Ecuadorians and rectify the narrative of the country’s history with the film’s central protagonist, Juan García, who has worked on that project for years. He developed a school book that presents black Ecuadorians prominently since the only Afro-descendants shown in local school books are portrayed next to a marimba and football.  The documentary also addresses the 1999 assassination of Afro-Ecuadorian legislator and presidential hopeful, Jaime Hurtado.

Directed by Patrice Raynal, 2020, France/Ecuador, 58 minutes, documentary, French and Spanish with English subtitles.

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THE INVISIBLE COLOR: BLACK CUBANS IN MIAMI

THE INVISIBLE COLOR: BLACK CUBANS IN MIAMI

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THE INVISIBLE COLOR: BLACK CUBANS IN MIAMI

DIRECTED BY SERGIO GIRAL

USA / 2017 / ENGLISH AND SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 47 MIN

SYNOPSIS

This latest documentary by the Dean of Afro-Cuban Cinema Sergio Giral investigates the black Cuban exile community in South Florida, since the first wave of political refugees in the 1959 revolutionary aftermath, to today. It tracks its presence throughout the region, and highlights its contribution to Miami's civic culture through testimonies and visual documentation.

DIRECTOR

Director: Sergio Giral
 

GENRE

  • Documentary
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THE MALI-CUBA CONNECTION / AFRICA MIA
THE MALI-CUBA CONNECTION / AFRICA MIA
THE MALI-CUBA CONNECTION / AFRICA MIA
THE MALI-CUBA CONNECTION / AFRICA MIA
THE MALI-CUBA CONNECTION / AFRICA MIA
THE MALI-CUBA CONNECTION / AFRICA MIA
THE MALI-CUBA CONNECTION / AFRICA MIA
THE MALI-CUBA CONNECTION / AFRICA MIA

THE MALI-CUBA CONNECTION / AFRICA MIA

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In the midst of the Cold War, ten young promising musicians from Mali are sent to Cuba to study music and strengthen cultural links between the two socialist countries. Combining Malian and Afro-Cuban influences, they develop a revolutionary new sound and become the iconic ensemble ‘Las Maravillas de Mali’. New Year’s Eve 2000. Richard Minier, a French music producer meets a former member of the band in Bamako and decides to bring the band back together.

Directed by Edouard Salier and Richard Minier | 2020 | 81min | France, Cuba, Mali | Documentary | Spanish, French with English subtitles

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THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS  (EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS)

THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS (EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS)

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THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS 
(EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS) 

DIRECTED BY Richard Salgado

Chile / 2017/ SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 52 min

SYNOPSIS

In the Azapa Valley (Chile), an oasis in the driest desert in the world, a group of descendants of enslaved men and women brought from Africa are organizing the first African census in the history of Chile. Their aim is to get official recognition from the State that has concealed their culture and African identity for more than 200 years. 

DIRECTOR 

Director: Richard Salgado
 

GENRES

  • Documentary
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