ABOUT THE PROJECT

LOGLINE
The Sixties witnessed the Golden Age of Cuban cinema—till a political crisis precipitated its decline. Today, a group of young Cuban filmmakers are striving to bring about its renewal.

SYNOPSIS
After the Revolution, Cuba becomes the island of all possibilities for filmmakers. The mission of the newly-formed Cuban Institute of Arts and Cinematographic Industry (ICAIC) is to glorify the Revolution—to “decolonize” the screens in order to develop an independent national cinema. Never before has such importance been given to cinema in a Third World country.

Cinemas become a meeting point throughout the country. Millions of Cubans have access to the French Nouvelle Vague and Italian neorealism, a window onto the world which exerted a powerful influence on their daily lives. Thanks to its fleet of ‘cine móvil’—blue trucks equipped with projectors—the ICAIC organizes King Kong and Charlie Chaplin screenings in the most remote corners of the island. For ten years, Cuba experiences an unprecedented cinematic explosion until an ideological hardening of the regime coupled with an economic crisis triggered its shrinking.

IN THE HEAT OF THE COLD YEARS navigates between the memories and aspirations of two generations of film buffs: the ICAIC’s pioneers chronicle the decade of post-revolution artistic splendour, while a cohort of young filmmakers attempts to revive national cinema. Both generations are tied together in their desire to see Cuban cinema flourish once again.

Our character-driven storytelling is embodied by three main protagonists, and their stories are woven into a chorus of secondary characters. At the International School of Cinema, Rosalia and a batch of final-year students are tirelessly fighting to obtain permits and funding, to bypass censorship, and to bring about a renewal of Cuban cinema. Meanwhile Luciano Castillo, the director of the National Cinematheque, struggles to preserve the Golden age of Cuban cinema’s legacy . On the other side of the island, Adela Legra, a 79-year-old actress, used to be known in Cuba as the “face of the Revolution” and now makes ends meet by performing in telenovelas.

PROJECT TYPE Documentary Feature

DIRECTOR Darius Kaufmann, Eytan Jan
PRODUCER Antoine Goldet, Dea Gjinovci

WEBSITE amokfilms.fr/a-la-chaleur-des-annees-froides