Cuba | drama-experimental | HD | color | 112 min | 2010

Film info

  • ABOUT THE FILM

    Production of “Memorias del Desarrollo” took five years, starting in 2005 and completed in 2010, with locations in five countries. It is the first Cuban dramatic feature film with scenes filmed both in Cuba and the United States. After its world Premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, it went to garner several awards and honors and receiving almost unanimous positive reviews throughout its Film Festival run. The International Film Guide described it as one of the best films Cuba has ever produced.

    SYNOPSIS

    An intellectual leaves the Cuban Revolution and ‘underdevelopment’ behind only to find himself at odds with the ambiguities of his new life in the ‘developed’ world. A portrait of an alienated man, an outsider with no clear-cut politics or ideology: a stranger in a strange land struggling with old age, sexual desire and ultimately, the impossibility for the individual to belong in any society.

    The film’s narrative is a collage of flashbacks, daydreams, and hallucinations comprising live-action, animation, and newsreel footage assembled to suggest the way personal memory works, subjectively and emotionally.
     

    PLOT KEYWORDS

    Cuba | Ideology | Exile | Identity | Experimental | Memory | Adaptation | Post-Capitalism

    CREW & CAST

    Original Title: MEMORIAS DEL DESARROLLO
    International Title: MEMORIES OF OVERDEVELOPMENT
    Original language: Spanish / English
    Directed by: Miguel Coyula
    Based on a novel by Edmundo Desnoes
    Screenplay, Cinematography & Editing: Miguel Coyula
    Producer: David W. Leitner
    Executive producers: Steve Pieczenik, Suzana Dejkanovic
    Associate producers: Michael Ferris Gibson, Juan Martínez, Yukiko Niigata
    Production Manager: Marta Aquino – Havana, Cuba
    Music: Dika Durbuzovic, Hayes Greenfield, Miguel Coyula

    Main cast:
    Ron Blair, Eileen Alana, Susana Perez, Lester Martiínez, Dayana M. Hernández

    FESTIVAL & AWARDS

    MEMORIAS DEL DESARROLLO has won 20 awards, among them:

    • World Premiere, Sundance Film Festival
    • Best Cuban Film of The Year. International Film Guide
    • Best Narrative Film. Havana Film Festival New York. USA, 2010
    • Special Mention. Cine Las Americas International FF. USA, 2010
    • Best Feature. New Media Film Festival. USA 2010
    • Best Narrative Feature. Dallas Video Fest. USA, 2010
    • Most Innovative Film. Cero Latitud Film Festival. Equador, 2010
    • Cine Latino Award. Washington DC Independent FF. USA,2011
    • Special Award. ACE Awards. USA, 2011
    • Best Film. Muestra Nacional de Nuevos Realizadores. Cuba, 2011
    • Best Latin American Director. Málaga Film Festival. Spain, 2011
    • Audience award. Best Foreign Film. Arraial CineFest. Brazil, 2011
  • SINOPSIS

    Un intelectual cubano abandona la revolución y el subdesarrollo solo para encontrar que no encaja en su nueva vida en el desarrollo. Un retrato de un hombre alienado, sin política e ideología definidas, enfrentando el envejecimiento, el deseo y la imposibilidad del individuo de pertenecer en ninguna sociedad.

    La narrativa del film es un collage de recuerdos, ensoñaciones, compuestos de ficción, animación, y elementos documentales manipulados y ensamblados de una manera que sugiere la manera en que opera la memoria personal subjetiva, la película está basada en la novela homónima de Edmundo Desnoes, segunda parte del díptico iniciado con Memorias del Subdesarrollo en 1967.

    FICHA TÉCNICA

    Título original: MEMORIAS DEL DESARROLLO
    Título internacional: MEMORIES OF OVERDEVELOPMENT
    Idioma original: Español / inglés
    Dirigida por: Miguel Coyula
    Basada en la novela homónima de Edmundo Desnoes
    Guión, fotografía y edición: Miguel Coyula
    Productor: David W. Leitner
    Productores ejecutivos: Steve Pieczenik, Suzana Dejkanovic
    Productores asociados: Michael Ferris Gibson, Juan Martínez, Yukiko Niigata
    Productora de línea: Marta Aquino – La Habana, Cuba
    Música: Dika Durbuzovic, Hayes Greenfield, Miguel Coyula

    Elenco principal:
    Ron Blair, EileenAlana, Susana Perez, Lester Martínez, Dayana M. Hernández

    FESTIVALES Y PREMIOS

    MEMORIAS DEL DESARROLLO ganó 20 premios, entre ellos:

    • Premiere mundial, Sundance Film Festival
    • Mejor película cubana del año. International Film Guide
    • Mejor ficción. Havana Film Festival New York. USA, 2010
    • Mención especial. Cine Las Americas International FF. USA, 2010
    • Mejor largometraje. New Media Film Festival. USA 2010
    • Mejor largometraje de ficción. Dallas Video Fest. USA, 2010
    • Premio a la película más innovadora. Festival Cero Latitud. Ecuador, 2010
    • Premio Cine Latino. Washington DC Independent FF. USA,2011
    • Premio Especial. Premios ACE. USA, 2011
    • Mejor película. Muestra Nacional de Nuevos Realizadores. Cuba, 2011
    • Mejor Director de la Competencia Latinoamericana. Festival de Málaga, 2011
    • Premio del Público. Mejor película extranjera. Arraial CineFest. Brasil, 2011
  • SINOPSE

    Um intelectual cubano abandona a revolução e o dito “subdesenvolvimento” apenas para descobrir que ele não se encaixa em sua nova vida nos EUA. Um retrato de um homem alienado, sem política e ideologia definida, enfrentando o envelhecimento, o desejo e a impossibilidade do indivíduo de pertencer a qualquer sociedade.

    A narrativa do filme é uma colagem de memórias, sonhos, composta de ficção, animação e materiais de arquivo manipulados e reunidos como se fossem memórias pessoais.

    O filme tem como base o livro homônimo de Edmundo Desnoes, autor do clássico “Memórias do Subdesenvolvimento” também adaptado para tela grande por Tomáz Gutiérrez Alea.

    FICHA TÉCNICA

    Título original: MEMORIAS DEL DESARROLLO
    Título internacional: MEMORIES OF OVERDEVELOPMENT
    Idioma original: Espanhol / inglês
    Dirigida por: Miguel Coyula
    Baseada no romance homônimo de Edmundo Desnoes
    Roteiro, fotografia e edição: Miguel Coyula
    Produtor: David W. Leitner
    Produtores executivos: Steve Pieczenik, Suzana Dejkanovic
    Produtores associados: Michael Ferris Gibson, Juan Martínez, Yukiko Niigata
    Jefe de Produção: Marta Aquino – La Habana, Cuba
    Música: Dika Durbuzovic, Hayes Greenfield, Miguel Coyula

    Elenco principal:
    Ron Blair, EileenAlana, Susana Perez, Lester Martínez, Dayana M. Hernández

    FESTIVAIS E PRÊMIOS

    MEMORIAS DEL DESARROLLO ganhou 20 prêmios, entre eles:

    • Premiere mundial, Sundance Film Festival
    • Melhor filme cubano do ano. International Film Guide
    • Melhor filme. Havana Film Festival New York. USA, 2010
    • Menção Especial. Cine Las Americas International FF. USA, 2010
    • Melhor filme. New Media Film Festival. USA 2010
    • Melhor longa de ficção. Dallas Video Fest. USA, 2010
    • Prêmio ao filme mais innovador. Festival Cero Latitud. Equador, 2010
    • Prêmio Cine Latino. Washington DC Independent FF. USA, 2011
    • Prêmio Especial. Premios ACE. USA, 2011
    • Melhor filme. Muestra Nacional de Nuevos Realizadores. Cuba, 2011
    • Melhor filme da Motra Competitiva Latino-americana. Festival de Málaga, 2011
    • Prêmio do Público. Melhor Filme Estrangeiro. Arraial CineFest. Brasil, 2011

Screening

  • TRAILER

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Press & Reviews

  • Review by James Greenberg, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
    ‘Thoughtful and cinematically bold… An affecting portrait of modern man becoming more and more isolated from a world he helped to create.’ Read more
     
  • Review by Michael Chanan, PUTNEY DEBATER (UK)
    ‘Remarkable… A dazzling and disconcerting work of great bravado… A paradigm for a new digital cinema beholden to no orthodoxy.’ Read more
     
  • Nancy Snipper, ARTS & OPINION
    ‘Astounding on several levels as it graphically delivers and sums up both the sham of capitalism and the time warp that the Cuban Revolution has created.’ Read more
     
  • Review by Bérénice Reynaud, SENSES OF CINEMA
    ‘A complex kaleidoscope, which in turns dictates the editing of the sequences in a kinetic, non-linear way. Paralleling free association, the structure blurs the lines between actual events, fake memories, projections, irritation at American pop culture, political anger, rambling and resentments.’ Read more
     
  • La Revolución es un sueño by Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo, EL DIARIO DE CUBA
    ‘Un momento memorable del arte cubano.’ Read more  
  • Cartas de créditos para el cine cubano del siglo XXI, by Joel del Río, ONCUBA MAGAZINE
    ‘Sin renunciar para nada a una poética personal (avanzada desde sus obras anteriores) Miguel Coyula ha destilado su voluntad de comunicación, y emprendió esta película ambiciosa, cargada de referencias transtextuales, concienzuda y meticulosa secuela de un clásico indiscutible cuya majestad ha sido amorosamente retada, y de algún modo trascendida, por medio de las técnicas del collage fotográfico y sonoro que le confieren una voluntad alusiva y una ambición simbólica prácticamente insondables.’ Read more
     
  • Mémoires du sous-développement & Mémoires du développement: radiographies de la politique cubaine by Magali Kabous, CINE LATINO
    ‘Memorias del subdesarrollo y Memorias del desarrollo reconcilian, en suma, filme político y creatividad al cuestionar el compromiso pero sin la pesadez didáctica. Alea, revolucionario inquisidor pero prudente expone, Coyula tirando balas reales incrimina, pero los dos multiplican los puntos de vista y finalmente abogan en favor de los outsiders que ameritan la indulgencia más que el ostracismo.’ Read more
     
  • Otros modos de hacer cine: conversación con Miguel Coyula en La Habana by Julio Ramos
    80 GRADOS: PRENSA SIN PRISA, Puerto Rico
    ‘la extraordinaria labor de Coyula con el patchwork y el montaje de su película nos incita a renovar algunas de las preguntas sobre las paradojas del arte moderno, la memoria y el archivo, la fragmentación del gran relato del cine nacional, el papel de la experimentación en el cine, y la compleja relación entre los intelectuales y el poder.’ Read more  
  • Memories of Media Death. Eduardo Luis Pardo Lazo
    ‘From Northtalgia to Southnesthesia, from Sergio to Sergio 2.0, from the anachronistic analogic of the black-and-white to the rainbow of digital cut-and-paste, somewhere somehow between both movies we Cubans have left behind our old illusions of identity. Life is elsewhere. Love is nowhere. Loss is everywhere. Suddenly we are all Citizen Sergio now’ Read more
     
  • Memories of Underdevelopment. Film Review. THE GUARDIAN
    ‘Memories of Underdevelopment… conjures up the uncertain mood of Havana just after the revolution. The effect is fascinating. A must-see.’ Read more
     

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