Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos

The Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC, Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry) was established by the Cuban government in March 1959 after the Cuban Revolution. Its major founders are Julio García Espinosa, Alfredo Guevara and Santiago Álvarez

The ICAIC is an organization of a film industry to produce, distribute and exhibit films and related work following the Cuban Revolution. Its aim is to use film as a powerful mass communication medium to mobilize and educate people, improve the quality level of Cuba films with appreciation among the masses and reach a wide public. Through educating the new generation of young directors, one of its responsibilities is to transform Cuba from a country of cinematic consumption to a production.

Before the Revolution, Cubans did not receive free education. Only wealthy people could get educated. Therefore, prior to 1959, the illiteracy rate was very high. The government wanted to find a way to reach public. It is hard for the government to produce books to reach public because people are required to have basic knowledge on understanding the wordings. So, cinema and other mass media were considered the best way to reach the public. Therefore, the Cuban government put more focus on the development of mass media.

Hollywood is the dominant film market all over the world, including Cuba. Also, Cuban film is described as “Imperfect Cinema”. This is a theme that shows the authentic livelihoods and the Third World struggles to the public. The style is to educate people with the correct human beings, train audiences to become more active on interpreting the meanings and enhance their critical thinking skills.

Due to these backgrounds, the Cuban government established a national film institute called Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC). The ICAIC is the first cultural act of the revolutionary government. The aims are to educate people and improve the quality level of Cuban films. Also, the ICAIC hopes to transform Cuba from a country of consumption to production. ICAIC made two clarifications: first, “cinema is an art”, and second, cinema constitutes “an instrument of opinion and formation of individual and collective consciousness”. Due to these clarifications, it led numerous underground filmmakers joining together.

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Wikipedia