HUMBERTO SOLÁS (Born 14th Dec 1941)
One of the great filmmakers of revolutionary Cuba, Humberto Solás entered the film industry as a teenager, and made his first short film at 18. After taking a film course at Centro Sperimentale de Cinematografi a in Rome, he made a big impression with his 1966 medium-length feature Manuela and his 1968 masterpiece Lucía brought him international recognition. He continued to produce well-regarded work throughout the 1970s and in the 1980s had major successes with Cecilia, Amada and Un Hombre de Éxito, which won first prize in the Havana and Cartagena film festivals. Amada was the winner of 10 awards and was nominated for a further 8, including a prestigious Palm D'Or at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival.

Havana 1914. After the death of her father, a hugely wealthy former slave trader, Amada now lives in her villa with her husband Dionisio, her blind mother and an old servant. Her marriage is a loveless one and her husband is unfaithful, so when she meets her younger cousin Marcial once again, it stirs deep passions within her. Only in her dreams, however, could she dare to play with the idea of fleeing with this journalist who is devoted to the cause of freedom and social justice.

Dionisio forces his mother in law to terminate the leases with the native tenants and to sell out entirely to American interests. He argues that only by so doing can she hope to maintain her lifestyle. This situation forces the workers into a struggle for survival and they stage a hunger march on the villa...