Humberto Solás
Director
Humberto Solás is a representative figure of Third World
cinematography.
He made his debut in the decade of the sixties of the past century
when he became of the founders New Latin American Cinema. It is
in this period that he films "Lucía", which is
regarded by world critics as one of the ten most important movies
in the history of Iberia-American cinema, as well as one of the
ten anthological movies of Third World cinema.
His general work reflects a humanism that deals with the search
for a national and Latin American identity related to the ideals
of peace, harmony and social justice. In his last and polemic
film "Honey for Oshún", he speaks out for the
union of all Cubans regardless of races, beliefs and political
differences.
The aesthetic of Solás is a passionate experimenting that
takes classic legacy inter-textualizes it within the perspectives
of the contemporary cinematographic vanguard of which he is a
key figure, since from the tribune of the International Non-Budget
Festival, which he presides, he exhorts to the democratization
and freedom of a low budget cinema that will allow the insertion
of new filmmakers, as well as of entire communities in the audiovisual
world heritage and whose premises are narrative exploring, a commitment
with the well-being of man and his environment, and a ethical
freedom of speech.
His films have participated in the official selections of the
Cannes, Venice, Moscow, Havana, Sundance and San Sebastián
Festivals, among many others. He has received awards in numerous
International Festivals (San Sebastián, Huelva, Cartagena,
Moscow, Milan, FIPA International, Toronto, Montreal, the New
Latin American Festival of Havana, Barcelona and Cádiz,
Spain). His film ¨A successful man¨ was the first Cuban
film to be nominated for the Oscar to the Best Foreign Movie.
The New York Times, Film Quarterly, El País, Le Monde,
Cahier du Cinema and various international media have echoed the
importance of his work.
FILMOGRAFÍA
(FILMOGRAPHY)
1961
Casablanca (Note for the series Popular Encyclopedia, co-directed)
1962
Variaciones (Variations) (co-directed)
1962
Minerva traduce el mar (Minerva translates the sea) (fiction,
co-directed, 15')
Variaciones (Variations) (in collaboration), (14')
1963
Minerva traduce el Mar (Minerva translates the Sea) (short film,
co-directed)
El Retrato (The Portrait) (fiction, co-directed, 15')
1965
El acoso (The Harassment) (27´)
1966
Pequeña crónica (Small Chronicle) (11')
Manuela (fiction, medium-length) (41')
1968
Lucía (fiction) (160')
1970
Crear...dos...tres (Createtwo...three) (8´)
1972
Un día de noviembre (A November day) (fiction) (110')
1974
Simparele (30')
1975
Cantata de Chile (fiction) (119')
1977
Nacer en Leningrado (To be born in Leningrad) (10')
1979
Wifredo Lam (45')
1981/1982
Cecilia (a film and a six chapter TV version)
1983
Amada (Beloved) (105´)
1986
Un hombre de éxito (A Man of Success) (fiction) (116´)
1988
Obataleo (11')
1989
Buendía (Good day) (11')
1991
El siglo de las luces (The Century of Lights (or Explosion in
the Cathedral)) (fiction) (120´)
2001
Miel para Oshún (Honey for Oshún) (ficción)
(115´)
PREMIOS Y MENCIONES
AWARDS AND MENTIONS
Manuela
Cuneo, Italia. "Silver Plate Award" 4th International
Film Review, Barcelona, Spain. (1966)
Critics´ Annual Selection, Havana, Cuba.
Diploma of Honor, Hispano-American Cinematographic Congress. (1966)Viña
del mar, Chile.
Viña del mar, Chile. Grand Prix "Paoa".(1967)
Lucía
Moscow, URSS. 1st. Prize, Gold Medal. (1968)
FIPRESCI Award (International Federation of Cinematographic Press)
4th International Cinematographic Festival (1968)
Barcelona, Spain. Mention of Honor. 3rd Iberia-American Film Gathering
(1968)
Critics´ Annual Selection, Havana, Cuba.1968
Critics´ Week. Cannes. 1969
Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Cup (ex - aequo) " Central Committee
of Sangkum" 2nd International Film Festival (1968)
Tokyo, Japan. Selected among the 20 best films of the year 1st
International Film Festival. (1970)
Valladolid, Spain. 1st. Prize "Carabela" 15th International
Week of Religious and Human Values Cinema.(1970)
Milan, Italy. 1st. Prize "Golden Globe" Cinemateca Italiana
Movie Festival. 1970
Vienna, Austria. Diploma of Honor. Viennale, (1971)
Cádiz, Spain. First Award "Caracola", Movie Festival.
Cultural Week "Alcances". (1971)
Santiago de Chile. Annual Critics´ Award to Best Film. Circle
of Art Critics.(1979)
Santo Domingo. Selected as Best black and white Photography, 1978.
Dominican Circle of Art Critics. (1981)
Huelva, Spain. Selected among the ten best movies of Iberia-American
cinema, by a survey of the Latin American critics, Spain and Portugal,
in the 7th Iberia-American Film Festival or of Huelva, Spain.
Simparele
San Sebastián, Spain. 1st. Prize "Concha de Oro",
(Golden Shell), 22nd International Film Festival. (1974)
Barcelona, Spain. Bronze Medal Jury Award at the 12th International
Short-Film Event (1974)
Leipzig, DDR. Special Award of the Palestinian Freedom Organization,
17th International Festival of Documentary and Short-Films (1974)
Cantata de Chile
Karlovy Vary, Checoslovaquia. Grand Prix "Crystal Globe".
20th International Film Festival. (1976)
Santaren, Portugal. Grand Prix "Cacho de Oro". 6th Film
Festival of Santaren. (1976)
Cartagena, Colombia. Jury Award to Best Direction. 17th International
Film Festival, Cartagena (1977)
Avellino, Italy. Award "Lazo D'Oro". Neo-realism Film
Festival of Avellino (1977)
Huelva, Spain. Jury's Award, International "Colón
de Oro". Audience's Prize "Colón de Oro".
International Film Festival (1977)
London, England. Outstanding Film of the year. Annual Critics´
Selection of the B.B.C (1977)
Award of the Organization to Free Palestine. 2nd Film Prize of
Damascus, Syria (1981)
Wifredo Lam
Huelva, Spain. "Colón de Oro" Audience's Award
to Best Short-Film, 7th Ibero-American Film Festival (1982)
Cecilia
"Official Selection" in Cannes, France 1982 (only Cuban
film competing in this Festival until 2002)
Best Movie of the International Film Festival of Panama. Best
Actress (Daysi Granados), International Film Festival Panama (1982)
Cuban Critics´ Award to Television Series (Best National
Production), Havana, Cuba. (1995)
Amada
Huelva, Spain. Audience's Acting Award to Eslinda Núñez.
10th International Ibero-American Festival. (1983)
Un hombre de éxito
Grand Coral Prize in the 8th International Latin-American Film
Festival. Havana, Cuba. (1986)
Havana, Cuba. Coral Prize in the 8th International New Latin-American
Film Festival in the categories of Photography and Artistic Direction
(1986)
Cartagena, Colombia. Award to Best Movie "India Catalina
de Oro" International Film Festival (1987)
France, Biarritz. Makhila de Plata. Iberic and Latin-American
Festival (1987)
Award to life's work by Brigade Hnos Saíz in the CARACOL
Festival of the UNEAC, Havana, Cuba. (1993)
El siglo de las luces
Award to Best Photography and Best Artistic Direction, International
Film Festival of Gramado, Brasil. (1993)
"Abril" Award by UJC (Livio Delgado - Photography),
Havana, Cuba. (1993)
"Pitirre" Award to best Movie in the Cinemafest Festival,
San Juan, Puerto Rico (1993)
Jury's Special Mention. Ibero-American Film Festival, Huelva,
Spain. (1993)
Cuban Critics´ Award to a Television Series (Best National
Production) Havana, Cuba. (1993)
Horcón (Film Script)
Coral Prize to Best Un-produced Script for HORCON, inspired in
an idea of Rodrigo Goncalves (Brasil). 20th International New
Latin American, Havana, Cuba. (1998)
Miel para Oshún
Official Selection of the Las Américas Festival in Montreal,
Canada, 2001..
Official Selection in Toronto. Toronto 2001, Canada.
'Paoa' Award to Best Supporting Actor to Mario Limonta.13th Film
Festival of Viña del Mar, Chile. International Competition,
2001
Audience's Public's Award. Film Festival of Seville, Spain, 2001.
Candidate (among 8 films) to the Goya Award to Best Spanish-Speaking
Film, 2002. Cinematographic Academy of Spain, Nov. 2001.
Special Jury Mention in Fiction. 23rd International New Latin-American
Festival. Havana, Dec. 2001.
Nomination (4 finalists) to the 16th Goya Award to Best Foreign
Spanish-Speaking Film. Cinematographic Academy of Spain, 19th
Dec. 2001.
International Exhibition "World Cinema". Sundance Film
Festival, 10-20 Jan. 2002, Park City, Utah, USA.
Grand Prix of the jury as Best Latino-American Film in the fiction
category. 3rd Independent Film Festival in Washington D.C., 28th
Feb.- 7th Mar. 2002.
Screened at the Closing Ceremony of the Latino Festival in Chicago
2002. "La Gloria" Award conferred to Humberto Solás
for his entire film career.
Opening of the Havana Film Festival in New York. April 2002.
Nominated for the Ariel Award in the category of Best Iberia-American
Movie. Mexico, May 2002.
Ariel Award in the category of Best Iberia-American Movie. XLIV
Edition of the Ariel. Mexico City, 27th of May, 2002.
Grand Public's Award of the Los Angeles Latino Film Festival,
July-August, 2002.
Honorary Mention as Best Actress to Isabel Santos. Lima Film Festival,
August, 2002.
Contact:
festivalcinepobre@icaic.inf.cu