“There can be no place in our forums for the enemies of the Revolution” - Cuban Film Institute

Cuban Film Institute: "There can be no place in our forums for the
enemies of the Revolution" / Diario de Cuba
Posted on December 4, 2015

Diario de Cuba, Havana, 4 December 2015 — A statement from the president
of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC),
published on Thursday on the State website Cubarte put a stop to the
recent discussions by filmmakers against censorship, in meetings where,
"there can be place for the enemies of the Revolution."

"The point of view of the debate we have defended has been, is and will
be unequivocally Revolutionary," says the ICAIC directive. "We are
working, together with other organizations and institutions, to find a
solution to the problems of audiovisual creation, from an anti-colonial,
anti-imperialist and socialist perspective."

The communication has been issued within days of the expulsion of
activists and independent Cuban journalists in a meeting where a letter
of support for theater director Juan Carlos Cremata was drafted.

The assembly, which was convened under the name "First Forum of
Filmmakers on cultural policy and Cuban audiovisual content," also had
on its agenda the reading and discussion of articles on censorship and
self-censorship such as those by filmmakers Enrique Colina and Juan
Antonio García Borrero.

"On Saturday November 28 we rejected the presence of several mercenaries
at the ICAIC Fresa y Chocolate Cultural Center, where a gathering of
filmmakers was held with their institution. None of the organizers had
invited them and their presence was a provocation and a premeditated act
to use this kind of space as a platform for proselytizing and
legitimacy," the statement said.

The situation became particularly heated when officials from the
institution ejected the activist Eliecer Avila, present in the room as a
listener to the debate.

"In the face of any attempt to distort the results of the joint work
between the filmmakers and the ICAIC, we feel a moral duty to reaffirm
our commitment to the Country, the Cuban culture and the Revolution,
without which the existence of the ICAIC itself and an educational and
cultural work of emancipation would not have been possible, work that is
the pride of our people," the statement continued.

The ICAIC insisted that "it will remain consistent with the cultural
policy of the Revolution."

Source: Cuban Film Institute: "There can be no place in our forums for
the enemies of the Revolution" / Diario de Cuba | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/cuban-film-institute-there-can-be-no-place-in-our-forums-for-the-enemies-of-the-revolution-diario-de-cuba/