Humberto Solás
| Humberto Solás | |
|---|---|
| Born |
14 December 1941 Havana, Cuba |
| Died |
18 September 2008 (aged 66) Havana, Cuba |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Years active | 1959-2008 |
Humberto Solás (14 December 1941 – 18 September 2008)[1][2] was a Cuban film director, credited with directing the classic film Lucía (1968), which explored the lives of Cuban women during different periods in Cuban history.[3]
His cinematic style borrows from Luchino Visconti's spectacular mise en scene and is permeated by sometimes heavy melodrama. He started making shorts at a very young age, before directing his first medium length film Manuela, in 1966. The success of this film led him to direct Lucía, an ambitious period piece told in three stories in different moments of Cuban history, all as seen through the eyes of a different woman, each named Lucia. He later directed many different projects with a degree of success, but he never matched again the international acclaim of his first feature.
Solás has won 13 awards for filmmaking and been nominated for an additional 9. His 1968 film Lucía won the Golden Prize and the Prix FIPRESCI at the 6th Moscow International Film Festival.[4] His 1985 film A Successful Man was entered into the 15th Moscow International Film Festival.[5]
In 1977 he was a member of the jury at the 10th Moscow International Film Festival.[6] He has twice served on the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival, in 1977[7] and 1997.[8] In 2003, he founded Gibara's Poor Cinema Festival, "open to filmmakers with limited funds".[9] Solás was awarded Cuba's National Film Prize in 2005.[3]
Humberto Solás died of cancer on September 18, 2008, at the age of 66.[3]
Filmography
Solás directed twenty-four films, from La Huida in 1959 to Barrio Cuba and Adela in 2005,[3] wrote twelve and produced one.[10] The following is an incomplete filmography:
- 1958: La Huida
- 1963: El refrato (short)[11]
- 1964: El Acoso (short)[11]
- 1966: Manuela
- 1968: Lucía
- 1972: Un dia de noviembre[3]
- 1975: Cantata de Chile[3]
- 1981: Cecilia[3]
- 1986: Un hombre de exito
- 1991: El siglo de las Luces[3]
- 2001: Miel para Oshun[3]
- 2005: Barrio Cuba[3]
- 2005: Adela
References
- ↑ Obituary of Humberto Solas in the Guardian
- ↑ El País HoustonChronicle.com en Español elpais.com
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 "Cuban Moviemaker Humberto Solas Dies at 66". New York Sun. 2008-09-19. Retrieved 2008-09-24.
- ↑ "6th Moscow International Film Festival (1969)". MIFF. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
- ↑ "15th Moscow International Film Festival (1987)". MIFF. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
- ↑ "10th Moscow International Film Festival (1977)". MIFF. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
- ↑ "Berlinale 1977: Juries". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
- ↑ "Berlinale: 1997 Juries". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
- ↑ "Cuba Filmmaker Humberto Solas Dies", Prensa Latina, September 18, 2008
- ↑ Filmography on IMDB
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Filmihulluno 6/1970 p. 22
External links
- Humberto Solás at the Internet Movie Database
- The Independent: Humberto Solas: Director who told the stories of Cuba's struggles under Castro
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