Ana is an actress whose career isn’t exactly going the way she wanted. In need of money for a new fridge, she decides to disguise as a prostitute in order to get herself a role in a rather unusual documentary financed by a group of foreign filmmakers. The documentary aims to portray prostitution in Cuba, and Ana, in her disguise, finds herself playing a bigger role than she bargained for when the filmmakers decide to shoot the documentary from her point of view as a jinetera, a female sex-worker who specialises in attracting tourists.
La Pelicula de Ana is the last film of director Daniel Diaz Torres, who passed away only eight months after the film was released in Cuba. As well as telling the colourful story of an actress trying to boost her declining career by any means necessary, the film exhibits as a fascinating satire of a film industry and its obsession with female body, a theme which is growing more and more relevant with a large group of high-profile actresses around the world speaking out about the issue.
Interestingly enough the claimed genre of La Pelicula de Ana seems to vary from comedy to drama, depending on which online source you happen to encounter. Which one is it? Come and see the film at GFT on 3rd November, 6pm, and tell us what you think.