Institute History
Description
The process of decentralization of film production that took place in Cuba four years ago has proven vital in fostering fresh talent and a renaissance of cinema on this Caribbean island. Mujer Transparente comes out of the Grupo de Creacion headed by Humberto Solas. Based on an origi-nal idea by Mr. Solas, the film was also helped along by another young director in the group, Orlando Rojas, whose very stylish Papeles Secundarios is also featured at this year's Festival.
Mujer Transparente is a collection of short fiction portraits of contemporary Cuban women, all directed, and in some cases also written, by five new young directors, three of them women. It represents a thread of the new Latin American cinema which reveals a fresh and natural sensibility toward a cinema of reflection, an d moves away from the exploits of magic realism and melodrama, which have recently characterized Latin American film. This more realistic and reflective approach is also present in other films which are being shown at this year's Festival, such as Maria Novaro's Lola and Tristan Bauer's Despues de la Tormenta. Perhaps these films are a lucid answer from the new generation of Latin American filmmakers when confronted with la crisis. Like Mujer Transparente, they are taking their incentive from a quotation by Katherine Ann Porter: "Stop, stop, you can always stop and make choices. . ." Reflecting and making choices are the head and the heart of what the women in these five portraits do. They invite us to do the same.