A crisis between husband and wife in a working class marriage is the focus for a dramatic examination of the changes generated by the Revolution as many more women entered the workforce. This film sparked a widespread debate throughout Cuban society. The Family Code (1975) had declared household chores and childcare should be shared equally. The film depicts Teresa’s exhausting double shift and when she takes on extra duties as a factory union delegate, her husband berates her for neglecting her family. Yet she persists in her quest for control over her life. Today an unmissable classic, at the time a very controversial film, it showed the Revolution was an ongoing struggle against entrenched attitudes for everyone. It also marked a turning point in filmmaking, shifting away from the fast moving close-ups of the 1960s to more documentary-style shots.

Introduced by special guest from Cuba, Gladys González Martínez of the Cuban film institute ICAIC.

BOOK TICKETS 6.30pm, Wednesday 18 March 2025 at The Garden Cinema, Screen 1.

Retrato de Teresa / Portrait of Teresa | Pastor Vega | Cuba, 1979, ICAIC | 103m | 18

AWARDS

Special Mention of the Jury, IX International Film Festival, Santarem, Portugal (1979)

Special Mention of the Jury for Best Actress (Daisy Granados), V Ibero-American Film Week, Huelva, Spain (1979)

Audience Award, 2nd prize, International Auteur Film Festival, Benalmádena, Spain (1979)

Catalina de Oro Award for Best Actress, XX Cartagena Film Festival, Colombia (1980) 

Best Female Performance Award, Young Film Festival, Hyeres, France (1980) 

Notable Film of the Year Award, London Film Festival (1980)

CAST Daisy Granados, Adolfo Llauradó, Alina Sánchez, Raúl Pomares.

REVIEWS B Ruby Rich, 1980