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ON THIS MONTH: FILM Fernando Perez Cuban film maker Fidel Castro famously said: ‘Within the revolution, everything; against the revolution, nothing’. Has his death made a difference to the stories Cuban filmmakers tell? I can’t speak for all of us, but from my point of view the attitude hasn’t changed. And that attitude attempts to reflect our country with all its light and shade; all its successes and contradictions. This film is called ‘Last Days in Havana’. Does it reflect the end of an era? Maybe, but not necessarily. Last Days in Havana means to reflect the complexity of the current situation, the reality of Cuba today. And the film doesn’t reflect the whole reality, just a part of it. In 2003 I tried to express the same themes in the documentary Suite Habana, which I consider my most representative film, because it’s the one which is most popular. It’s just that today in <strong>2017</strong> the conditions for survival have got more difficult and people are behaving in a way that reflects a very different, more contradictory value system. Can you tell us about the two main characters in ‘Last Days’? Are they typically Cuban characters? Diego and Miguel are both Cuban, but borders don’t come into it because their conflicts are human, and therefore universal. What distinguishes them as Cubans is their capacity to live their daily life without dramatizing it, facing each day with positivity. What do you think of the state of Cuban cinema in this period? What could be done to improve the climate for film making? Cuban cinema is recovering its dynamism thanks to a push from a new generation of filmmakers, which already guarantees an unstoppable independent production line. We trust that this production line will be legally recognized sooner rather than later. I notice this film was produced by [Spanish company] Wandavision? How come? José María Morales, director of Wandavision, has been the co-producer of my films for the last 20 years. He’s very creative and doesn’t think of cinema in terms of how much money there is to be made. He’s more interested in the artistic results... He’s got a lot of spirit, just like Ann Cross, tilting against windmills for a Quixotic dream. Have you ever considered making a film outside Cuba? What problems would you anticipate if you did? I can’t imagine I ever will. I’ve received offers, but I’ve always ended up making my films in Cuba. Perhaps it’s because I feel more creative in my own country… What offering can we expect next from Fernando Perez? This very day I’ve been filming IN- SUMISA, a film which tells the story of Enriqueta Faber, a Swiss woman who posed as a man in order to be able to practice medicine at the beginning of the 19th century in Baracoa, in the extreme east of Cuba. It’s a new challenge and I don’t know how it will end, but I’m having a great time finding out. Dexter Lee Last Days in Havana, Duke of York’s Brighton, <strong>September</strong> 10th, 1pm, screening organised by <strong>Lewes</strong> legend and Cuban film enthusiast Ann Cross. 49