Baracoa, a global film success, reaches Cuban movie theaters

Havana, Nov 6 (Prensa Latina) Italian-Cuban film "Baracoa," directed by Luis Ernesto Donas, will be premiered at Havana's Yara movie theater, following a successful run at international film festivals and a warm audience reception.

November 6, 2026
06:29

The Cuban Film Institute – (ICAIC) announced that the director, producers, production crew, and cast will attend the screening.

This “dramedy” road movie, Doñas’s first fiction film, explores the bond between Felipe (played by renowned Italian actor Giancarlo Giannini), an Italian revolutionary and friend of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, and his son, Pepe (Carlos Luis Gonzalez), shaped by homophobic prejudices.

After his father’s death, Pepe and a doctor named Jimmy (Yadier Fernandez) set out on a road trip from Havana to the island’s easternmost city, a voyage of profound personal transformation.

The film deals with love, friendship, and good-heartedness, Doñas told Prensa Latina, noting that “this purity of emotion, which comes across on screen, is what, in a way, manages to connect with audiences.”

“Baracoa” won the Audience Award of the Official Competition and the Best Screenplay Award (written by Doñas and Filippo Ascione) at the 41st Ibero-Latin American Film Festival in Trieste, Italy.

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