During the presentation of the audiovisual film at the headquarters of the Institute for Friendship with Peoples (ICAP), the Ethiopian-American filmmaker spoke to fighters of this feat and to African students studying at the Universities of Santiago.
Important figures appear during the 22 minutes of this intense story, including Fidel Castro and Raúl Castro, Jorge Risquet, the Italian professor Piero Gleijeses and Cuban prisoners of war, along with doctors, nurses and teachers who served there.
I know this is not a new story in Cuba, but for most of the world, said Abdurahman, alluding to the presentations in cities in France, including Rome, Toronto and New York, and about 20 awards received at numerous international festivals .
As an African-born citizen, he said, I thank Cuba for this extraordinary gesture thousands of miles from its geography, which was critical to Angola’s sovereignty, Namibia’s independence, and the dismantling and defeat of apartheid in South Africa.
He exhorted his African brothers to reach out to the island in the difficult times it is going through and to let young people know this cinematic work that reveals to them a glorious side of solidarity and internationalism, based on absolute material disinterest.
Based on a detailed investigation, the documentary includes images of the visit of South African President Nelson Mandela, the return of the Cuban military and the funerals of the fallen, as well as first-hand testimonies from those who attended those epic days. The piece was created over several years, facing obstacles of various kinds and receiving the collaboration of the Cuban art institutes and the film, radio and television industries; the House of Africa, the ICAP and the Union of Fighters of the Cuban Revolution.
One of the next international events in which he will take part will be the one dedicated to pan-African cinema in the US city of Los Angeles.
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