EL BENNY - NY Premiere
Cuba / UK / Spain. 2006. 35 mm. Fiction. 127 min.
JORGE LUIS SANCHEZ
A film about the whirlwind life of singer Beny Moré, the most popular of contemporary recording artists to hail from Cuba. Having consolidated his career in Mexico and recently returned to Cuba, Beny is on a mission to form his own Afro-Cuban Jazz band. However, his eventual success proves to be a bit too much to handle, leading him into a search for himself, a downward spiral of drug and alcohol abuse and a jail sentence. After prison, Beny recovers but has aged dramatically. Now he strives to find his youth.
Un filme acerca de la tormentosa vida del cantante Beny Moré, el artista más popular en en la música contemporánea cubana. Después de consolidar su carrera en México, Benny regresa a Cuba y se concentra en la misión de crear su propia banda de Jazz Afro-Cubano. Sin embargo, el éxito alcanzado es demasiado para él. En la búsqueda de su identidad cae en una espiral de drogas y alcohol y encarcelamiento. Después de la prisión, Beny se recupera pero ha avejentado dramáticamente. Ahora se esfuerza por encontrar su juventud.
Cuba’s Oscar entry, El Benny is based on the life of the famous Cuban musician, Benny Moré. The debut feature by writer/director Jorge Luis Sanchez features new versions of Morés songs performed by contemporary musicians including Chucho Valdés, Juan Formell, Haila and Orishas.
BEST OPERA PRIMA: HAVANA FILM FESTIVAL, CUBA
QUAD CINEMA 4/13 @ 6:45pm & 9:30pm