Cuban film director Manuel Pérez Paredes, who passed away on November 6, was honored by this family along with members of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC) and the Havana Film Festival.
Among those attending the heartfelt gathering were members of the Foundation of New Latin American Cinema, the Minister of Culture, Alpidio Alonso, the president of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, Marta Bonet, and the president of ICAIC, Alexis Triana.
“Today we remember the great human being and filmmaker Manuel Pérez Paredes in the lobby of the Charles Chaplin Cinema, alongside his son Rubén, his closest colleagues and admirers,” Triana expressed on his social media accounts regarding the 85-year-old director.
Representatives from various roles within Cuban cinema—Rebeca Chávez (director), Raúl Rodríguez (photographer), Mirtha Ibarra (actress), Mitchel Lobaina (filmmaker), Lourdes de Los Santos (filmmaker), and Waldo Ramírez, a member of the Higher Council of the Foundation of New Latin American Cinema—offered testimonies about their connections with Manuel Pérez Paredes and anecdotes from his life as a filmmaker and advisor.
“Pérez Paredes leaves a profound mark on the history of Cuban cinema, as the founder of ICAIC in 1959, recipient of the National Film Award in 2013, and winner of the Coral of Honor at the 41st edition of our International Festival of New Latin American Cinema,” the Havana Film Festival posted on its Facebook page.
Manuel Pérez Paredes was a prestigious Cuban filmmaker, director of one of the ICAIC’s Creative Groups (1988-1992), known for productions such as Madagascar, Hello Hemingway, Adorables Mentiras, and La Bella del Alhambra.
He also directed ¿Por qué nació el Ejército Rebelde?, Aventuras de Juanquinquín (1967), Río Negro (1977), Páginas del diario de Mauricio (2006), and La vida que ha quedado atrás (2021).
