Title
Destination ICAIC: Cosmopolitan Intellectuals, Documentary Film and the Image of the Cuban 1960s
Date of Degree
9-2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Program
Latin American, Iberian and Latino Cultures
Advisor
Fernando Degiovanni
Committee Members
Vanessa Pérez-Rosario
Ángeles Donoso Macaya
Subject Categories
Film and Media Studies | Latin American Languages and Societies | Scandinavian Studies | Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature | Television
Keywords
Cuban Revolution, Socialism, Latin America, Sara Gómez, Alberto Roldán, Nicolás Guillén Landrián
Abstract
This study analyzes the interaction between foreign intellectuals and ICAIC (Instituto cubano de artes e industrias cinematográficas) in shaping the image of Cuba in the 1960s. I make the case that the idea of Revolution was a product of cosmopolitan intellectual engagement and that in this process documentary film was a privileged medium. By tracing the development of normative stories of commitment, cosmopolitanism, and aesthetic experimentation embodied both in written texts and travel essay films, I argue that such circulation destabilizes fixed ideas of Cuban, Revolutionary or Intellectual. The archive of Danish filmmaker and ICAIC collaborator Theodor Christensen as well as a survey of the complex network of foreign participants in Cuban film retell the story of the creation of a revolutionary documentary film ethos and of how the Revolution was documented from the perspective of the exchanges which made both possible.
Recommended Citation
Arce-Riocabo Rollins, Gabriel, "Destination ICAIC: Cosmopolitan Intellectuals, Documentary Film and the Image of the Cuban 1960s" (2022). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5123
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Included in
Film and Media Studies Commons, Latin American Languages and Societies Commons, Scandinavian Studies Commons, Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature Commons, Television Commons