The Counter-Hegemonic Revolutionary Cuban Cinema

Abstract

This article discusses how the Cuban Revolution not only brought significant changes to the geopolitical landscape of Latin America but also impacted the region’s film production by breaking away from the commercial model imposed by Hollywood. Viewing cinema as a tool for education and social transformation, the revolutionary government felt the urgent need to create an institution to promote this activity in 1959. The ICAIC, Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry, despite conflicts, contradictions, and uncertainties, has promoted decolonial and anti-imperialist film production from the beginning by contributing to the construction of a new Latin American heroic pantheon and supporting the formation of the Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano. Today, despite co-productions with other countries and a favorable media landscape through the internet, access to Cuban productions remains restricted worldwide, as a result of the centuries-old economic blockade imposed on the island by the U.S.