Series of six films launches with tributes to León Ichaso and Orlando Jiménez Leal
– El Súper, Jan., 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Koubek Center
– 8-A, Feb. 29, at 7.30 p.m. at Koubek Center
(Miami, Jan. 12, 2024) Miami Dade College (MDC) announces the launch of the Cuban Cinema Series, presented by the Miami Film Festival. Starting Friday, Jan. 26, the Series will feature presentations of six emblematic Cuban films at the newly renovated, state-of-the-art theater at MDC´s Koubek Center located at 2705 S.W. 27th Ave., in the heart of Little Havana. Admission is free for all films in the Series. The first two films will have English subtitles.
Miami Film Festival Executive Director James Woolley celebrates the launch of the series.
“It feels like the perfect time to announce the Cuban Cinema Series,” Woolley said. “With a newly renovated Koubek Theater as part of the Miami Film Festival family, we have an outstanding venue to showcase beloved classics for the whole community. This is a great addition to the extensive Cuban film programming of the 41st Miami Film Festival coming up April 5 through April 14.”
Founded and directed by renowned film critic and author Alejandro Ríos, who originated the Series in 1993, this year’s lineup opens with El Súper, featuring filmmakers, special guests, free valet parking, live music and refreshments available for purchase.
Schedule of inaugural films:
Friday, Jan. 26, at 7:30 p.m.
El Súper (1979)
The Series begins with a special presentation of the film El Súper, directed by León Ichaso and Orlando Jiménez Leal. The film was released in 1979 and is based on the play of the same name written by Iván Acosta and released in 1977 with notable success among the public and critics. This presentation, which will feature the appearance of Orlando Jiménez Leal, producer Manolo Arce, and some of the actors who participated in the film, pays tribute to León Ichaso, one of the most distinguished directors of Cuban exile cinema, who died on May 21, 2023. In the presence of León Ichaso, the Cuban Cinema Series sponsored the first exhaustive tribute to his filmography in 2005, when the public enjoyed, among other films: Azúcar amarga, Piñero, Sugar Hill, Crossover Dreams, The Fear Inside, Execution of Justice and Hendrix. In April of 2024, El Súper turns 45 years old and continues to be the emblematic cinematographic work by the Cuban exile.
Thursday, Feb. 29, at 7:30 p.m.
8-A (1989)
The Cuban Cinema Series continues its performances on February 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the Koubek Center with the cinema of Orlando Jiménez Leal and the re-release of his revealing documentary 8-A (1993), which recreates the Kafkaesque judicial process carried out by the Castro regime against one of its military heroes in 1989.
Ticketing
Reserve free tickets for the first two films here. The Series will resume after the 41st Miami Film Festival, scheduled for April 5-14, 2024. The upcoming festival will include numerous new Cuban films also programmed by Ríos.
About Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival
Celebrating cinema in two annual events, Miami Film Festival (41st annual edition April 5-14, 2024), and Miami Film Festival GEMS (11th annual edition, November 2024). Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival is considered the preeminent film festival for showcasing Ibero-American cinema in the U.S., and a major launch pad for all international and documentary cinema.
The annual Festival welcomes more than 45,000 audience members and more than 400 filmmakers, producers, talent and industry professionals. It is the only major festival housed within a college or university. In the last five years, the Festival has screened films from more than 60 countries, including 300 World, International, North American, U.S. and East Coast Premieres. Major sponsors of Miami Film Festival GEMS include Knight Foundation, Miami Downtown Development Authority, Miami-Dade County, and the State of Florida. The Festival also offers unparalleled educational opportunities to film students and the community at large. For more information, visit miamifilmfestival.com or call 305-237-FILM (3456).