The “opera prima” of the Cuban Vanessa Batista tells the story of the Catalan emigration to Cuba in the 19th century. It is produced by Filmsnòmades in co-production with TV3. It was awarded the MemoriReus-Rabasa Award at Memorimage, the Reus International Film Festival, Spain.
“Los que se quedaron”, in English Those who stayed, has been screened out of competition at the 37th edition of the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema, in Havana, Cuba, within the “In Society” program of the Latin America section in Perspective. On March 10, 2016, it premiered on the small screen in the program “El documental” from 33 (Second Public Catalan TV).
Vanessa Batista rescues in this work the personal and unpublished archive of Francisco Carulla, in 16 mm tapes that no one outside the family had seen for more than half a century were recovered and digitized. The filming includes the trip made by Francisco Carulla, Catalan from Miralcamp (Lleida) in Catalonia in 1927, the only one he made since he emigrated to Cuba in fourteen years of age in 1912. The images show the city of Santiago de Cuba, where he settled, the trip to Barcelona, his hometown, the parents’ house, the city of Barcelona, numerous characters of the period and the return to Havana.
Synopsis
The birth in Barcelona of the first nephew of the director, a Cuban emigrated to Barcelona ten years ago, inspires a trip to Cuba that is a search in itself, and that intersects with another trip in reverse, Francisco Carulla, who in 1927 makes his only visit to Catalonia filming with a 16mm camera.
Following Carulla’s lead, the director discovers the history of this emigration that began in the 19th century, approaching the experience of the thousands of emigrants who crossed the Atlantic in search of a better life and who, for various reasons, never returned to Catalonia .
A reflection on identity, roots and migration, as if it were a game of mirrors.
- MemoriReus-Rabassa Award, Memorimage, Reus International Film Festival, Spain, 2015.
- Honorable mention Category Migrations & Border in the festival “Contra el silencio de Todas las voces film festival”. Mexico. 2016
- Nomination for Best Foreign Language Direction; best soundtrack. Nice International Film Festival. France. 2016
Technical data sheet
Direction: Vanessa Batista
Script: Vanessa Batista and Carlos Batista
Director of photography: Guillermo Barberà
Executive production Filmsnòmades: Guillermo Barberá and Santi Valldepérez
TVC executive production: Jordi Ambròs
TVC delegated production: Joan Pavon
Production: Elena Frez
Executive production (Cuba): Carlos Batista
Production (Cuba): Alexander Yorick V. Llauradó
Edition: Vanessa Batista & Guillermo Barberá
Direct Sound: Marcos Seifans
Sound post-production: Jordi Arqué
Visual effects: Jaume Moya
Opening credits and poster: Albert Val
Corrections and translations: Gramàtics
Original soundtrack: María Lilia Cano and Miel Semé 2015
A Filmsnòmades production in co-production with TV3 and the participation of Laltraporta.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
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