For 46 years, thousands of film lovers and filmmakers have gathered in December to celebrate New Cinema at the Havana Film Festival. Thousands of filmmakers have passed through the classrooms of the International Film and Television School (EICTV) since its founding in 1986, developing critical and emancipatory perspectives and voices. A vast network of creators, teachers, and researchers has grown around the Foundation of New Latin American Cinema, which, from Cuba, forges memory and meaning for the cinema of the continent. “That simple and that immense” is its mission, in the words of its founder, Gabriel García Márquez.

These institutions call upon filmmakers from around the world to show solidarity with #Cuba.

If you are a filmmaker please add your name via the link to the form at the end of this statement:

FILMMAKERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD RAISE THEIR VOICES AGAINST THE ATTEMPT TO ENCLOSE AND OBSCURE CUBA

Those of us who belong to the great family of cinema express our rejection of the aggressions and threats against the people of Cuba, of whom we feel a part.

“Cuba is an unusual and extraordinary threat,” said Donald Trump. And he announced that, with the measures imposed by his government, “Cuba will not survive.”

But here we are, to affirm that what is “unusual and extraordinary” about Cuba is its generosity, its dignity, and its capacity to bring us together to dream and think, as a Greater Homeland, about a more just and humane world.

Cuba is an extraordinary source of light for film and audiovisual media. It has given refuge to dozens of exiled and persecuted filmmakers. It has offered spaces, talent, and selfless collaboration to hundreds of films and creators from around the world. For 46 years, thousands of film lovers and filmmakers have gathered in December to celebrate New Cinema at the Havana Film Festival. Thousands of filmmakers have passed through the classrooms of the International Film and Television School since its creation in 1986, developing critical and emancipatory perspectives and voices. A vast network of creators, teachers, and researchers has grown around the Foundation of New Latin American Cinema, which, from Cuba, forges memory and meaning for the cinema of the continent. “That simple and that immense” is its mission, in the words of its founder, Gabriel García Márquez.

Unusual and extraordinary, certainly.

For the entire world, Cuba is an inspiration, never a threat. That is why we, the men and women of cinema who join in this proclamation, reject the intention of the Donald Trump administration to isolate and suppress Cuba in order to subjugate it; And just as we have received Cuba’s unusual and extraordinary solidarity, we now raise our voices to defend it.

Cuba will survive, and the world’s hope will survive with it.

Over 1400 filmmakers have signed this statement from all over Latin America and the world. See the link below to see the statement and form to add your name.

Link to form to add your name

taken from CubaDebate 2 February 2026