Soviet-Era Film on Cuba Is Screened in Russia

I read that Russia is taking a peek at Cuban history as it marks the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Bay of Pigs victory with activities including the screening of the Soviet-era film Soy Cuba (I Am Cuba).

"We want to express our hope that this cultural event becomes one more step in strengthening the long-standing friendship between Cuba and Russia," said Cuban Ambassador Juan Valdes Figueroa during the presentation of Soy Cuba at the Judozhesvetni cinema in Moscow.

Natalia Borisova, translator of the film by director Mijail Kalatozov, said that it all started in 1961, with a script written by Soviet Yevgueni Yevtuchenko and Cuban Enrique Pineda Barnet.

"I travelled to Cuba in 1962, when I was writing a thesis on the Cuban revolutionary process, and of the four parts of the film, I worked on the story reflecting the time before the (revolutionary) victory," Borisova told a packed audience, including Cuban residents, Russian deputies, professors, diplomats, officials and many young people.

Soy Cuba was made with revolutionary filming techniques like long shots that were later imitated in films made worldwide.