{"id":7396,"date":"2025-12-11T16:28:44","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T13:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/?p=7396"},"modified":"2025-12-11T16:28:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T13:28:46","slug":"havana-kicks-off-festival-with-cinema-resistance-and-a-stand-for-palestine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/havana-kicks-off-festival-with-cinema-resistance-and-a-stand-for-palestine\/","title":{"rendered":"Havana Kicks Off Festival with Cinema, Resistance, and a Stand for Palestine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Havana\u2019s International Festival of New Latin American Cinema has opened its 46th edition with a powerful statement, framing this year\u2019s event as a platform not just for film, but for cultural sovereignty and Global South solidarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The opening night ceremony at the iconic Chaplin Theatre was charged with purpose, featuring strong expressions of support for Venezuela and, most pointedly, a formal dedication of the festival to the people of Palestine\u2014honoring their steadfast resistance against occupation and ongoing violence. The move cements the festival\u2019s role as a space for cultural defiance against artistic homogenization and a stage for calling out global injustice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"699\" src=\"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Inauguracion-de-44-Festival-de-Cine-Latinoamericano-09-1024x699.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Inauguracion-de-44-Festival-de-Cine-Latinoamericano-09-1024x699.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Inauguracion-de-44-Festival-de-Cine-Latinoamericano-09-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Inauguracion-de-44-Festival-de-Cine-Latinoamericano-09-768x524.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Inauguracion-de-44-Festival-de-Cine-Latinoamericano-09-1536x1049.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Inauguracion-de-44-Festival-de-Cine-Latinoamericano-09.jpg 1900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This year also honors the centenary of Alfredo Guevara, founder of Cuba\u2019s film institute ICAIC and a towering figure in bringing Cuban cinema to the world. Guevara\u2019s legacy\u2014rooted in anti-imperialism and a belief in film as an engine for social change\u2014serves as the festival\u2019s guiding spirit, reinforcing the idea that cinema can reflect harsh truths and shape collective consciousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The dedication to Palestine sharpens the event\u2019s political edge, positioning it firmly within traditions of international solidarity. By centering this cause, the festival sends a clear message: Latin American cinema doesn\u2019t just document regional struggles\u2014it aligns itself with fights for self-determination, justice, and peace everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That alignment is reflected directly in the programming. The focus on Palestine has amplified the presence of Arab cinema, with contemporary Palestinian films\u2014exploring life under occupation and in exile\u2014taking a central role. These selections show how film acts as both witness and weapon, preserving memory and sounding an alarm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is no sudden shift. The Havana festival has long been a hub for Arab and Middle Eastern film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Past editions have screened works by Palestinian directors like Elia Suleiman (Divine Intervention) and Hany Abu-Assad (Paradise Now), whose films grapple directly with liberation and identity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022Movies from Egypt, Lebanon, and Morocco have regularly featured, tracing themes of migration, resilience, and cultural endurance that resonate deeply with Latin American stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022As far back as the 2000s, the festival hosted retrospectives on Syrian and Lebanese cinema, solidifying its place as a crucial meeting ground for Global South filmmakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This curated inclusion is intentional. It springs from the festival\u2019s core mission of cross-continental solidarity. If Latin American cinema tells stories of overthrowing dictators and fighting neocolonial power, Arab cinema offers narratives of displacement, siege, and sumud (steadfastness). Together, they form a shared tapestry of resistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ultimately, this year\u2019s focus is a deliberate political and cultural gesture\u2014an acknowledgment that the fights for dignity and sovereignty in Latin America and the Arab world are deeply connected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than a film festival, this is a pulsing heart of artistic resistance. It stands as a reminder that in Latin America, art has never been separate from the struggle for identity, justice, and a fairer world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Havana\u2019s International Festival of New Latin American Cinema has opened its 46th edition with a powerful statement, framing this year\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7397,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7396"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7399,"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7396\/revisions\/7399"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gz.foundation\/language\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}