About

My research project studies contemporary Cuban cinema, with an emphasis on (re)construction of identities in the light of a new set of circumstances marked by processes of cultural globalization and transnational filmmaking. Since the reforms started by Ra l Castro especially, Cuba has been going through a complex process of changes. This research investigates a cinema in transition from a state regulated ecosystem with an interest in maintaining its cultural independence, to a situation with apparently more openness to create, produce and distribute, but within a conjuncture full of ambivalent possibilities, including the potential reappearance of neo-colonial relations.

Research questions include: how is the Cuban film industry and its national cinema related to the multiplicity of transnational modes of filmmaking that have been common in the continent in the last few decades? How can the term “independent” be defined within the Cuban cinema? How does the Cuban national identity circulate globally and what engagement and critique do contemporary Cuban filmmakers have of cultural globalization and neocolonialism processes? I will use an interdisciplinary methodology that will allow me to effectively approach the transitional moment Cuba is going though, with its multiple complexities. In this sense, I will combine political economy and cultural studies approaches to examine the dominant paradigms of global entertainment media. In addition to that, I problematize the notions of “national cinema” and carry out textual analysis of some of the most relevant Cuban films of the last years, with the objective of not just understanding its cinematographic production, but also to shed light on the history of a society and a country that is in a constant process of rewriting.