I Am Cuba2026-02-03
Toronto, ON
This is a powerhouse in visual storytelling. An incredible amalgamation of so many different filmmaking techniques — it's one thing to try your hand at these shots, but to do so in such a masterful way is just jaw dropping. You've undoubtedly seen this homaged in some of your favourite films. But what's going on here as a whole transcends language, and is such an incredibly well formed depiction of a time and a place and its people. And the history of this film is fascinating — quickly shunned in both the Soviet Union and Cuba and forgotten for decades, before finally finding new life in the US off the backing of a restoration done by a tiny distributor and later the support of Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola.
Watched on 35mm at the TIFF Lightbox. From the Collection series, presented by Cameron Bailey. I loved the story of the print he shared before the screening, how it was deemed unplayable when it first arrived in the TIFF library after being rescued from Mongrel Media, but was painstakingly restored to playable standard by one of their preservationists. And it looked great!
Watched on 35mm at the TIFF Lightbox. From the Collection series, presented by Cameron Bailey. I loved the story of the print he shared before the screening, how it was deemed unplayable when it first arrived in the TIFF library after being rescued from Mongrel Media, but was painstakingly restored to playable standard by one of their preservationists. And it looked great!