¡Viva la República!, Pastor Vega, 1972, 100’
¡Viva la República! does for the prehistory of the Cuban revolution what Esfir Shub had previously done for the origins of the Russian revolution, wither her great montage documentary “The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty” (1927). Vega had at his disposition the complete archive of Cuban cinema from its origins, when the birth of cinema coincided with the closing stages of the Cuban War of Independence. Images of current events with scenes from that war were taken using cameras from the Edison Company.
The movie analyses this history step by step through old news-reels, photographs and political vignettes in an ironic and at times amusing tone, playing with pieces of found footage.
Screening of '¡Viva la República!' by Pastor Vega, framed within the season 'For an Impossible Cinema. Documentary and Avant-garde in Cuba (1959-1972)'.