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Hotel Nueva Isla

Cuba, 2014
Duration: 
1:20

Spanish with English subtitles.

 

In the early twentieth century, the Hotel Nueva Isla was an emblematic luxury hotel. After the Cuban Revolution, it was confiscated by the State and became a shelter for homeless people. Located in Old Havana, today it is an imposing ruin. Jorge de los Rios, a retired clerk, is one of the few residents who remain there, along with La Flaca, his lover, and Waldo, a young itinerant. As the rest leave for safer places, Jorge clings to his dilapidated home and its buried treasures, slowly digging his way through its debris. Gorgeously shot, the film speaks poignantly to a lost generation who fought in the Cuban Revolution and dreamed of a better society.

“Sedately hypnotic and beautifully composed portrait of marginal lives... an intimate, respectful portrait.” Neil Young, The Hollywood Reporter

El "Hotel Nueva Isla" fue a principios del Siglo XX un emblemático hotel de lujo que luego de la revolución cubana, fue confiscado por el Estado y convertido en un albergue para personas sin hogar. El edificio se ha vuelto cada día más difícil de habitar,  manteniendo el refugio para personas que viven al margen de la sociedad. Jorge, un taciturno y misterioso personaje acompañado principalmente por su perro, es un funcionario retirado y uno de los pocos huéspedes que aún quedan allí,. Pero mientras los vecinos se van marchando, Jorge se mantiene aferrado a sus raíces. La cinta le habla simbólicamente a una generación perdida que luchó en la revolución y soñó con una mejor sociedad.

10-Sep-2015
5:15 pm|The Cinematheque (CIN)
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Irene Gutiérrez (b. 1977, Spain) graduated in Documentary Cinema from the International Film School of San Antonio de los Baños (EICTV, Cuba) and holds a Masters in Cinema Studies. Hotel Nueva Isla, her first feature film, premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival and was exhibited as part of the MoMA Documentary Fortnight 2015. 

Credits:

Director: Irene Gutiérrez
Writers: Javier Labrador, Irene Gutiérrez
Producers: Jose Angel Alayon Devora, Claudia Calvino
Cinematographer: Javier Labrador
Editor: Lorenzo Salazar
Sound: Carlos García