Cuban filmmaker Sergio Giral, director of notable films such as María Antonia, Glass ceiling y The other Franciscodied in Miami at the age of 87.
The Assembly of Cuban Filmmakers reported in Facebook the news and highlighted the career of the artist, whose film The other Francisco has been included in the list of 10 most popular Cuban films.
“At the beginning of the sixties he joined the ICAIC, and after making several documentaries he debuted in fiction with The other Francisco (1974), the first of a trilogy that explores the African roots in our culture and the violent processes to which the natives of that continent were subjected as slaves,” the publication recalls.
That film is considered one of the 10 most popular in Cuban cinema, and featured the performances of Margarita Balboa, Miguel Benavides, Armando Bianchi, Alden Knight, Adolfo Llauradó, Susana Perez and Alina Sánchez.
For its part, the film Glass roof (1982) denounced the corruption and double standards of a group of officials, for which it was censored for almost a decade on the island. Important actors such as Carlos Adame, Samuel Claxton, Roberto Perdomo, Susana Pérez, Miriam Socarras and Jorge Villazón also participated in it.
In 1990 Giral, committed to the memory of the nation, adapted Maria Antonia, a play by Eugenio Hernández Espinosa, and received several Goya Award nominations. They participated in this film Alexis Valdés and actress Alina Rodríguez.
In the 1990s, Giral, whose mother was North American, returned to the United States to continue his career in various film projects as a director and producer.
“He has been one of the few Cuban filmmakers who systematically studied and brought to the cinema the African and Caribbean influences in the configuration of our identity. He remained active as part of the Cuban artistic community in exile. A few weeks ago his name was proposed by several of our members to be considered for the National Film Award,” the post states.
