2 04/16/2021 – 12:34 PM (GMT-4)
The Cuban film director Manuel Herrera Reyes criticized his documentary Girón suffered the censorship of several clips during this week’s broadcast by Cuban Television.
“The show version of my film Girón in the program “In a certain way” NOT MY MOVIEA hidden hand cut off several sequences damaging artistic purposes, making it an important work in Cuban cinema, ‘Herrera wrote on his profile on the social network Facebook.
The filmmaker noticed that no one consulted him or asked for his permission as required by copyright law, to censor scenes from the movie, a Cuban cinematographic work from 1972.
“My rights at work have been violated. I feel disappointed by this example of neo-Stalinism that we considered missing and that we must fight. What separates us from Alice in WonderlandWhat’s that called? Cynicism. Change history 47 years after the premiere! I am sure that if the Americans did this, we would not hesitate to say that he is cynical and shameless, ”Herrera denounced.
In his text he drew attention to Cuban cultural institutions, including the ICAIC, Cuba Cine and the UNEAC.
Although Herrera did not mention the segments that were censored, all indications are that the film’s mutilations correspond to participants in the Playa Girón fighting by the revolutionary side who later left the country in disagreement with the communist regime, such as the pilots Rafael del Pino. and Alvaro Prendes.
Herrera, 79, is an accomplished film director with an award-winning career at the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC). His filmography also includes movies such as The call of the hour (1969), Capablanca (1986) and Sapphires, blue madness (1997).
Herrera receives the national culture award. He is the husband of the well-known actress Eslinda Núñez.
Cuban Television has been broadcasting documentaries and films on the Girón theme for several days in homage to the 60 years of invasion
Herrera’s publication had dozens of interactions and various comments highlighting the regrettable fact that censorship continues to be exercised with impunity on Cuban television.
The film producer Reymel Delgado Rodriguez He stressed that such actions by Cuban television are a total disrespect for the artist and the work, which Cubans cannot continue to allow.
Journalist Joel del rio He said in his commentary on Herrera’s text that television censorship is “a policy as absurd as it is insulting.” He also indicated that no one explains anything, no one shows their face and that the managers and officials of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television (ICRT) “cut because they feel omnipotent behind their preconceived decisions”.
Herrera shared a second post on Facebook, a quote from a text by the late Havana historian, Eusebio Leal Spengler, in the book Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, The Lost Diary
“It is a disservice to the peoples when historical facts remain hidden from them, because of childish fears or fear of the likely consequences. Everything can be explained, everything can be understood in context, analyzed, rightly appreciated,” Herrera quotes.
Girón is a documentary film with a running time of 118 minutes. It was an ICAIC production scripted by Herrera and Julio García Espinosa. The music for the piece was provided by Sergio Vitier and Carlos Fernández Averhoff and the photography is by Julio Simoneau.
It is the end of 2020 Cuban artist Orestes Hernández published a text referring to the climate of political censorship and fear that today’s Cuban society is alive. He highlighted the ongoing repression to which the artist community has been subjected by the island’s authorities since the 27N demonstrations.
He also has censorship in Cuba, the actress Rebeca Proenza who responded to the leader of Buena Fe, Israel Rojas, after he said the 27N was responding to “imperial objectives of domination”. The young woman reminded Rojas that he has also undergone censorship when he depicted the lesbian kiss of two women on stage in a video clip.