Guantanamera, dir. Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Juan Carlos Tabío, Cuba/Spain 1995, 91mins., Spanish with English subtitles, 15
A satire on life (and death) during the ‘Special Period’ of the early 1990s, with its material shortages and uncertainties, in Cuba following the demise of the Soviet Union. And also an entertaining comedy road movie. When Aunt Yoyita dies during a visit to Guantánamo, her body must be taken to Havana, at the other end of the island. Gina's bureaucratic husband Adolfo takes charge of the logistics. On the road, they keep crossing paths with Mariano, a playboy trucker and Gina’s ex-student. Along the way Ikú the Santería god of death makes appearances. Before they reach Havana, Gina realizes a choice has to be made. This was the last film of Tomás Alea, Cuba’s most celebrated director, just before his death.

Elpidio Valdés v. the military train (Elpidio Valdés contra el tren militar), dir. Juan Padrón, Cuba 1974, 8mins, Spanish with English subtitles
Juan Padrón is the godfather of animation in Cuba and is revered across Latin America. Elpidio Valdés is a famous and much loved cartoon character in Cuban culture, who entertained generations of Cuban children as a symbol of rebellion against colonialism and imperialism. Elpidio joins the mambí liberation army (formed of former enslaved people and peasants) in 1895 at the beginning of the Cuban War of Independence. The cartoons always make fun of the colonial powers. One of two shorts recently restored by the ICAIC with funding from Screen Cuba.

Introduced by special guest from Cuba, Gladys González Martínez of the Cuban film institute ICAIC

More info at https://screencuba.uk