The filmmakers’ assembly disagrees with the Cuban government’s justification for showing Juan Pin Vilar’s documentary about Fito Páez on TV, the artistic group itself reported on its Facebook profile.
“Yesterday, June 23, 2023, at 9:00 a.m., the meeting convened by the Ministry of Culture, the ICAIC and the PCC took place at the Chaplin Cinema in the Cuban capital. “The agenda of the meeting was regulated by the declaration of the Assembly of Cuban Filmmakers dated June 15, 2023, supported by nearly 600 signatures so far,” read their assembly statement.
“The reaction of the Ministry of Culture to the new act of exclusion and censorship with the documentary “Havana de Fito” by Juan Pin Vilar and produced by Ricardo Figueredo and the conditions in which it was broadcast on national television is that they are there ” are legal bases for taking such measures in exceptional situations,” the text continues.
Regarding the arrogant attitude of the authorities, the artists made it clear: “As a union We express that we do not agree at all with this answer and maintain that we denounce this and all similar facts that, based on whatever legislation. They agreed to investigate the matter further.
The filmmakers’ assembly said that during the meeting they “analyzed the ongoing exercise of censorship, cultural policies and the panorama of current Cuban cinema, made up of filmmakers of different ideologies, generations and tendencies, scattered around the world”.
The regime’s Deputy Prime Minister, Inés María Chapman Waugh, stated that “there is a readiness for dialogue.” and teamwork to achieve concrete results given all the demands expressed there.
Regarding their next steps, the group said: “We have decided to convene a meeting in the coming days to elect a group to represent us and act as organizers of future meetings and actions.”
Finally, the artists recalled that they remain interested in attracting those who live outside the island: “This gathering is convened with all filmmakers inside and outside of Cuba. We are already working to ensure the appropriate technology so that it can be a space where Cuban filmmakers from all latitudes who wish to participate can participate.”
Prior to this statement, the Ministry of Culture presented its version of the meeting and spoke of the creation of a “joint working platform between ICAIC and filmmakers to find solutions to the problems of developing audiovisual and cinematic productions”. This was not mentioned by the artists.