Guantanamo.- The Embassy of Cuba in Italy hosted the screening of a documentary about the life of Cuban Greco-Roman wrestler and five-time Olympic champion Mijaín López, who is considered a living legend of world sports.
At the presentation of the film, held the previous day, the Cuban ambassador to this European country, Mirta Granda, and Alexis Triana, president of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC), took the stage, highlighting the merits of this audiovisual work.
The Cuban diplomat emphasized the importance of this film production, with its profound human and patriotic values, which shows the feats and life moments of a man of very humble origins who, “thanks to the Revolution, managed to develop a career in sports that led him to win the Olympic gold medal five times.”
For his part, Triana stated that the making of this documentary constitutes an event of extraordinary significance, due to what Mijaín López’s achievements represent for Cuba, for Latin America, and for the world.
The event was attended by members of the diplomatic corps, Italian filmmakers, members of the community of Cubans residing in this country, as well as representatives of friendship organizations with the Caribbean nation.
Also present were members of a delegation of Cuban film and television producers and directors, headed by the president of ICAIC, who are in Rome to participate in the International Audiovisual Market Fair (MIA), which runs from October 6 to 10 in this capital.
The delegation includes Yanín Martínez, vice president of ICAIC; Luciano Castillo, director of the Cinemateca de Cuba; Maritza Ceballos, representative of the Cuban Film Commission; Consuelo Ramírez, filmmaker and scriptwriter, as well as film producers Yamila Marrero, Inti Herrera, and Reymel Delgado.
The documentary Mijaín, with a runtime of one hour and 20 minutes, is a cinematic proposal from ICAIC and the production company D’Alma Films. It shows the trajectory of a man who from the small town of La Herradura, in the western province of Pinar del Río, “became a champion thanks to the Cuban sports movement,” Triana expressed.
In statements to Prensa Latina, he specified that this feature film, directed by Rolando Almirante, Ángel Alderete, and sports journalist Héctor Villar, achieves “a human approach, beyond his feats on the mats,” of the first athlete to win a gold medal in the same individual discipline in five consecutive Olympic Games.
With a non-chronological narrative, it includes intimate testimonies from his closest family members, such as his mother Leonor Nuñez and his siblings, his coaches, particularly Raúl Trujillo, as well as his sporting rivals, with footage of his training sessions and his main career achievements.
