EL BENNY

Spanish/English subtitles
Cuba / 2006 / 127 min
07, Sep, 2007 - 9:30 pm
Pacific Cinémathèque
Director: Jorge Luis Sánchez
Producers: Camilo Vives, Simona Haggiag, Alexander de Lesseps, Iohamil Navarro
Screenwriters: Abrahám Rodríguez, Jorge Luis Sánchez
Cinematographer: José Manuel Riera
Editor: Manuel Iglesias
Music: Juan Manuel Ceruto
Sound: Osmani Olivare, Ricardo Ustueta
Cast: Renny Arozarena, Enrique Molina, Isabel Santos, Mario Guerra
El Benny is a film about the whirlwind life of singer Benny Moré, one of the most popular contemporary recording artists to hail from Cuba. Having consolidated his career in Mexico and recently returned to Cuba, Benny 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 Benny Moré, el artista más popular 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, alcohol y encarcelamiento. Después de la prisión, Benny se recupera pero ha envejecido dramáticamente. Ahora se esfuerza por encontrar su juventud.
Awards: Best Opera Prima Havana Film Festival / Cuba’s Oscar Entry

Preceding Short: Comer, Gozar, Partir (Cuba / 25 mins)