
UK FESTIVAL OF CUBAN CINEMA, 15-28 MARCH 2026
Screen Cuba celebrates Cuban cinema, looking at achievements and challenges of the Cuban people through the lenses of their filmmakers since the 1959 revolution, and presenting films rarely screened in the UK.
With a range of directors and diverse themes, we bring you inspiring shorts, ground-breaking features, documentaries, and discussions with Cuban film specialists.

2026 PROGRAMME Tickets on sale

Sara Gomez, a genuinely original filmmaker and the first female director at the Cuban Cinema Institute (ICAIC), passionately explores everyday life with all its turmoil in the revolution’s early days. Female and black, Gomez was committed to the revolution and to changing society by creating a new cinematic language that addressed the contemporary themes of… Read more

This classic film satirises how red tape in the revolution affects the everyday lives of its people. As a badge of honour, a model worker is buried with his labour card in his pocket. But his widow needs it to claim the benefits she is entitled to. The film traces the family’s often hilarious Kafka-esque… Read more

Young filmmaker Daniel Santoyo directs this innovative short about a new pandemic that is sweeping the world which causes some of the dead to return to life. As a journalist is filmed showing a new facility to house bodies in an attempt to contain the disease, the camera inadvertently reveals the awakening of a woman’s… Read more

Sara Gómez is a participant-observer in this rich documentary from 1967 about the origins of Afro Cuban music experienced through the instruments used. The film consists of short interviews, footage of impromptu street performances and some studio recordings. Gómez’s commitment to featuring multiple voices in the post-revolutionary society results in a fascinating history of how… Read more

The late Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, often cited as Cuba’s greatest director, worked alongside Juan Carlos Tabío to create this Oscar-nominated modern classic. The film charts the relationship of David, a young Communist student, with a flamboyant gay Catholic writer, Diego. A Communist Party stalwart entices David to spy on Diego, to entrap him. Instead, David becomes… Read more

An excellent example of an historical drama, a genre in which Cuban filmmakers excel. The Eye of the Canary is inspired by the little-known early years of José Martí, the great 19th century Cuban poet and activist, father of Cuban independence and national hero. The film tracks the boy’s growing political awareness, alternating between a grim realism… Read more
