Three films by / about Cuban filmmaker Santiago Álvarez – the father of Cuba’s revolutionary filmmaking. + Q&A
Saturday 15 November 2025
19:00 – 22:15 | CCA Cinema
Los Ojos de Santiago / The Eyes of Santiago
Directors Osain Álvarez / Rodrigo Vázquez-Salessi, Producer Rodrigo Vázquez-Salessi, a Bethnal Films Production I Cuba / Vietnam I 2021 I Doc I 80m I Spanish and Vietnamese with English subtitles I N/C 18
Osain Álvarez, son of Santiago Álvarez, the father of Cuba’s revolutionary filmmaking, follows in his father´s footsteps and travels to Vietnam to find out what drove Santiago to risk his life to bear witness to the war in the 1960s and 1970s. There, Osaín witnesses and portrays the continuing effects of Agent Orange 45 years after the end of the war. The film seeks to throw light on his father’s soul, passion and ideas, which were the motor behind his debut film.
Short break followed by:
79 Primaveras / 79 Springs
Santiago Alvarez I Cuba 1969 I 25m I Spanish with English subtitles I N/C 18
This poetic and politically charged short film is Santiago Álvarez’s tribute to the life and assassination of Ho Chi Minh, the revolutionary leader of Vietnam. Combining newsreel footage, still photography, graphics, and Álvarez’s hallmark montage style, the film condenses Ho’s 79 years of struggle into a powerful cinematic collage. Created as an act of solidarity with the Vietnamese people during the war, 79 Primaveras stands as one of Álvarez’s most celebrated works – both a portrait of a leader and a rallying cry against imperialism.
Hanoi, Tuesday 13th — Premiere of the Newly Restored Film
Santiago Álvarez I Cuba 1967 I 19m I Spanish with English subtitles I N/C 18
Filmed in Hanoi on December 13, 1966, this documentary records the lives of people in the Vietnam capital and surrounding countryside at the height of U.S. bombing. Their daily activities are presented in a collage of images: building irrigation ditches, planting rice, fishing, weaving…life continued despite the shower of U.S. bombs. During these air raids, the people formed armed self-defense units so efficient that the life of the nation was not interrupted.
The films will be followed by an in-person Q+A with his son Osian Álvarez, alongside Hugo Rivalta and Rodrigo Vázquez-Salessi, who will join by video link.
READ BRIAN BEADIE’S ARTICLE ABOUT SANTIAGO ÁLVAREZ
Content Advisory Notes:
Los Ojos de Santiago / The Eyes of Santiago (N/C 18)
Mature Themes. This documentary contains intense thematic material related to political conflict, historical trauma, and personal loss. Includes depictions of grief and psychological distress.
79 Primaveras / 79 Springs (N/C 18)
Mature Audiences. This experimental documentary contains archival footage of warfare, including bombings and military conflict, used in a political and historical context. Viewers should be prepared for stark, polemical imagery.
Hanoi, Tuesday 13th (N/C 18)
Mature Audiences. This film contains extensive and graphic archival footage of the Vietnam War, including depictions of aerial bombings, civilian casualties, and the aftermath of conflict. Viewer discretion is advised due to intense and distressing wartime imagery.
