A Retrospective of the Films by Fernando Perez

Perez, who began his film career as assistant director to Tomas Gutierrez Alea and Santiago Alvarez, stands apart from his Cuban counterparts for his ability to portray human dilemmas in quirky, unpredictable ways. He has taught film at the EICTV and written many essays and reviews. In 1975 he started his documentary filmmaking career. His first feature film was Clandestinos (Living Dangerously, 1987). The 1998 film La Vida es Silbar (Life is to Whistle, 1998), a quirky tale of life in Havana, premiered at the Havana Film Festival where it won Best Film, Best Director and Best Cinematography. It also received the Special Jury Prize in Latin American Cinema at Sundance. His film Suite Habana (2003) is filmmaking at its best, and one of the top Cuban films of all times. Fernando Perez has won awards all over the world, but more important than that, is that he is a sincere, consistent artist with a handful of great films.

A Tribute to Jacobo Morales

Morales is an actor and director whom many consider the most influential director in Puerto Rico's history. Morales has been acting since he was a teenager, in both television and film. Morales appeared on Puerto Rican television since its inception in the1950s, until the mid 1980s. He starred in the comedy skit La Fondita De La Esquina (The Little Store on The Corner) on a widely watched network show. After retiring from La Fondita, Morales dedicated himself to directing. His acting credits include Bananas with Woody Allen (1971) and Up the Sandbox with Barbra Streisand (1972). He wrote, directed, and acted in Dios los cria (And God Created Them, 1979), Nicolas y los demas (Nicholas and the Women, 1986), Lo que le paso a Santiago (What Happened to Santiago, 1989), Linda Sara (Pretty Sara, 1994). He was the first Puerto Rican director to be nominated for an Oscar, and the nomination cemented Morales' status as one of the best directors ever to come from Puerto Rico.