Santiago Álvarez Documentary Festival begins with community focus

Santiago de Cuba, March 6 - With a marked community focus and dedicated to the cinematography of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the 23rd International Documentary Festival Santiago Álvarez in Memoriam (Fidsa, by its acronym in Spanish) began at La Claqueta center in the Rialto Cinema Complex of this city, and will run until March 11.

According to RaulicerGarcía, provincial director of Culture, who spoke to the Cuban News Agency, among the main activities of the event are documentary screenings in several Santiago de Cuba communities, including the neighborhoods of Los Hoyos, Los Cangrejitos, and San Pedrito.

The official pointed out that the program of the event also includes the celebration, on March 8, of the birth of Álvarez, a world reference in the documentary genre and creator of the renowned ICAIC Latin American Newsreel, whose work continues to be an inspiration for generations of filmmakers.

During the event, Lázara Herrera, promoter of the documentarian's work and defender of the festival, will also be honored on the occasion of her 80th birthday.

The festival will take place in a hybrid format, with streaming transmissions coordinated with the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry, García stated.

The event locations will be the BernabéMuñizGuibernau Museum of Image, artistic teaching centers, the Oriente Pharmaceutical Laboratories, the Santiago de Cuba branch of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, the provincial committee of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, and the University of Oriente.

Inaugurated on the afternoon of this Thursday, Fidsa will be held on this occasion in Santiago de Cuba, its main headquarters, and Havana, adjusting its program to the country's current electro-energetic situation, which is why a large part of the activities will take place on digital platforms.

For the competition of this edition, 152 materials were registered, including 135 documentaries, 11 projects in development, and six photojournalism works. (Text and photo: ACN)