Several hundred children greeted the Cuban short Una Aventura de Elpido Valdés by Juan Padrón with plenty of laughs about its slapstick jokes and humorous escapades when it was screened at the Children’s International Film Festival @childrensfilmfestival in Kingston, UK in June. This 1974 animation about a popular anti-colonial hero, loved by Cuban children, was possible thanks to its restoration with funds raised by Screen Cuba.

Cuban input at the festival also included a short film made by children from La Manigua, a film and cultural centre in Havana developed by Silvia Padrón, the late director’s daughter. Screen Cuba assisted with the initial collaboration between London’s Ciné Schools, the organiser of the Children’s Festival and La Manigua, and both parties hope to deepen the links they have established.