The FICGLB is the only Film Festival which has been invited by the Director of the Cuban National Film Library, Mr. Luciano Castillo, in order to create a programme based on either awarded and well-known current films selected during the annual editions by its director, filmmaker and Catalan film critic Xavier-Daniel.

In this way, an initiative that took place 24 years ago in Spain is consolidated, when he founded and directed in Barcelona the first LGTIB Film Festival, then the audience was able to watch, for the first time, films that were not screened in our country commercial cinemas.

Xavier-Daniel will repeat this deed in a country where the public has not the chance to see these films, and it will be possible now because the transition has begun in Cuba. He’s facing the challenge of being a pioneer by programming quality and innovative films, in fact he has been celebrating all these film festivals as a director for twenty-four years.

The prestige of the National Film Library in Cuba has taken it into consideration and has appraised that the continuity of this schedule will make the Cuban audience enjoy this event addressed to those who are looking forward to their concerns accomplished.

We would like to underline too the great success of the LGTIB-themed film sessions programmed at the Havana Film Festival. Since just a few films are screened, the cinema entrance is very crowded, mainly because after the Festival these films will no longer be seen, and this is an exception which only takes place during the annual Festival of New Latin American Cinema.

The FICGLB in Cuba will mean an unprecedented event, either socially and cultural, as it happenned in Spain during the last years under Franco’s regime. By then, Xavier-Daniel was programming already, in France, some LGTIB-themed films which were banned in Spain by the pro-Franco censorship. On those days, the Spanish cinema-goers would cross the France border just for attending the Art and Essay Movie sessions, therefore those famous week-ends became a real sociological phenomenon. Actually it was a great success.

We deeply acknowledge the professional career of our Director for being so brave on those hard times when the rights for LGTIB and freedom were repressed.

We wish him a great and well deserved success in this new stage.

Film Festival Board