Tribute will be paid at ZINEBI this year to Cuban filmmaker Manuel Marzel, a pivotal figure in Caribbean experimental cinema. In the 1990s — a period marked by political and economic crisis in the wake of the collapse of the socialist bloc — Marzel’s work burst onto the scene with a transgressive, poetic vision pushing far beyond what was then understood as “amateur” or independent cinema on the island. His films permanently changed the rules of the game, shattering paradigms and challenging the entrenched hierarchies between hegemonic culture and popular art.
His first short film, A Norman McLaren, which won a Gold “Mikeldi” Award at the 34th Bilbao International Festival of Documentary and Short Film, signified not only his international recognition but also the symbolic validation of a new sensibility within the Cuban film landscape. With humour, irreverence and a deep sense of formal daring, Marzel explored animation, collage and found footage as vehicles to question notions of reality, identity and cultural resistance within a society gripped by a profound crisis of faith.
His legacy, more alive than ever, continues to inspire generations of filmmakers who, between scarcity and intuition, continue to seek out and find the essential tools of truly revolutionary cinema. His complex and wide-ranging body of work stands as proof that film can remain a space of freedom even in the darkest moments of crisis.
ZINEBI celebrates both his work and his spirit, once again screening A Norman McLaren along with the short film Evidentemente comieron chocolate suizo — two films which, through wit and courage, demonstrated that imagination itself can be a form of survival and a tool for resistance.
Archivistas Salvajes
Inspired by Norman McLaren's direct animation techniques on celluloid, the short film constructs an abstract narrative using fragments of films found in the trash.
A farce built on the supposed discovery of the last reel of a film long lost.
