LavenderRed_Cubabook

“The ICAIC recognized film as the most powerful and important art form in modern
life, a voice of the state, and, unquestionably, the most accessible form of distributing
revolutionary ideas to the masses. In its first 24 years, ICAIC produced nearly 900 documentaries
and over 112 feature films.”
Levin pointed out, “Artistically and intellectually, the trajectory of Cuban cinema–
from cinéma vérité to experimentalism, and from neorealist drama to social comedy–has
paralleled the trajectory of Alea’s directorial career. Similarly, Alea’s films are a primary
source of cultural politics in revolutionary Cuba, a fact that allows one to study his films
directly against the political climate in which he lived and worked.”
Daniel West added that “Tomas Gutiérrez Alea has been the most prominent of the
filmmakers working in Cuba’s government-supported film institute, the Instituto Cubano
del Arte e Industria Cinematograficos (ICAIC). Gutiérrez Alea is a committed
revolutionary, and his best features explore the social, political and historical dimensions
of the revolutionary progress.”
Solidarity served up with a cherry on top
After Cuba lost the socialist solidarity and trade it had had with the Soviet Union, the
illegal U.S. blockade tightened its grip on the island’s economy.
West pointed out in 1995, “Given the profound economic crisis currently gripping
Cuba, it is astonishing that a feature such as ‘Strawberry and Chocolate’ could be produced.
The situation in ICAIC is desperate. Top directors such as Gutiérrez Alea earn
the approximate equivalent of $5.00 per month, and the once relatively well-funded
ICAIC filmmakers can now undertake a feature only if co-production money is available.
The low-budget ‘Strawberry and Chocolate,’ for instance, could not have been produced
without Mexican and Spanish support.”
Gutiérrez Alea, battling cancer, also had to undergo surgery during the production of
the film. Juan Carlos Tabio, a collaborator, stepped up to co-direct the film.
“Strawberry and Chocolate” was the first Cuban movie to be nominated for an Oscar
in the Best Foreign Film category. (Levin)
West concluded: “The commercial release of ‘Strawberry and Chocolate’ in the U.S.
is a welcome event because U.S. authorities have at times hounded Gutiérrez Alea—
by, for example, denying his visa requests or blocking exhibitions of his works. This interviewer’s
videotape copy of [Gutiérrez’s 1968 film] ‘Memories of Under development’ was
confiscated by U.S. Customs in Los Angeles when he entered the country on Dec. 11,
1993, after having legally attended the annual International Festival of New Latin American
Cinema in Havana.” By the closing ceremony of that festival in Havana on Dec. 10,
1993, “Strawberry and Chocolate” had won most of the top awards.
“Afterwards”—West, who was a guest, described—”in the Palace of the Revolution,
Fidel Castro held a reception for festival guests featuring strawberry and chocolate ice
cream served together for dessert.”
‘Strawberry & Chocolate’: the sweet taste of change 67