Dok Night – SOY CUBA 1964 (I am Cuba) Directed by Mikhail Kalatozov + Si Paton

Dok night with …

Symbiopsychotaxicinema in the Dokzaal

SOY CUBA   1964
(I am Cuba)
Directed by Mikhail Kalatozov
141 minutes
In Spanish with English subtitles

“Don’t avert your eyes. Look! I am Cuba. For you, I am the casino, the bar, hotels and brothels. But the hands of these children and old people are also me!” – Yevgeni Yevtushenko

This unique collaboration between Russian director Mikhail Kalatozov (The Cranes are Flying), and poet Yevgeni Yevtushenko dramatizes the conditions that led to the 1959 Cuban revolution. Originally made in 1964, it was re-released in 1995 through the combined efforts of Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. It has some of the most amazing cinematography in the history of cinema.

I Am Cuba is set in the late 1950s when a bunch of students, workers, and peasants organized to overthrow the corrupt regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista. The film is divided into four sequences. The first depicts the American gambling casinos and brothels in Havana. The next part shows a farmer burning his sugar cane when he learns he is going to lose his land to the American United Fruit company. Another part describes the suppression of students and dissenters at Havana University, and the final sequence shows how government bombing of mountain fields induced farmers to join with the rebels in the mountains. The final scene is a march into Havana to proclaim the revolution. This film has become a classic in film history, and what makes it so great is that it is not only revolutionary in its theme, but also in its wonderful incandescent style. The narration was written by Russian poet Yevgeni Yevtushenko.

Photographed in black and white and using acrobatic camerawork, some of the shots and distorted camera angles are so staggering they are virtually unbelievable. In one sequence, the camera lifts off from a hotel rooftop, takes in the Havana skyline, descends several floors, winds its way through the poolside party-goers, and then takes you for a swim in the pool in one continuous shot. (Paul Thomas Anderson loved this shot so much he made a tribute to it in Boogie Nights). Audacious and imaginative, I Am Cuba is a revelation. Filmed with true visionary poetry, it transcends the genre of political filmmaking and reaches a pinnacle of cinematic art….pure exhilarated cinema in its highest form.

‘A fever dream, a plunging rollercoaster ride, a cinematographer’s hallucination, a love song to the power of cinema.”

Presented by Jeffrey Badcock
A series of socially engaged movies, screened once a month on Thursdays. Touching on such hot topics as immigration, homelessness, racism, education, radical gender propositions, the pandemic and gentrification, these films not only explore visionary politics, but are also chosen to stir our imagination and creativity. The essence of cinema is the collective experience, and these screenings are aimed at creating intimate communities again in an increasingly hectic and fragmented world.

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vegan meals by Susie Creamcheese

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music performance by Si Paton in the basement

Si Paton is a composer, bassist, academic and general smart mouthed antagonist. He has completed his PhD at Birmingham Conservatoire under the supervision of Ed Bennett and Seán Clancy, researching composition for improvising large ensembles searching for a shared musical language between different stylistic origins. He has previously studied electric bass and jazz composition at University of West London with Paul Westwood and Eddie Harvey. He has played in groups – most notably the math-rock band Selectric, the trans-atlantic no wave outfit Phame, and his duo with drummer Rob Nettleship – done composition based projects, and regularly performs solo improvised sets. His solo performances have seen him tread the waters between free jazz, noise, avant-rock, contemporary classical and performance art. You might find him being a dedicated disciple of free jazz one minute, and then the next rolling around on the floor, playing his bass with a screwdriver, reciting wrestling promos, or engaging in staring contests with audience members. You never quite know what exactly you’re going to get and the unpredictableness is what makes his music stand out.