Focus 16 Worlds on 16: Fogo île de feu & On the Other Island

Programme

• On the Other Island

  One of the islands of the Republic of Cuba is Isla de Pinos, currently known as Isla de la Juventud (“Island of Youth”). At the time that Cuban director Sara Gómez shot this film, the island was part of the La Habana Province; it was a place where young people from Havana worked temporarily or permanently on collective farms. Gómez visits the residents with her 16mm camera and talks to them about their dreams and ideas. Among them is 17-year-old Maria, who works on the land in the morning, but also has the opportunity to train to become a hairdresser. A cowboy tries to bring a touch of culture to the island with a theatre performance in the evening, an ex-priest now works with cows and talks about his doubts and difficulties. There are also young people in a re-education program.
  
  This black-and-white film provides a unique picture of the proud islanders, who until then had rarely been asked for their opinions. Occasionally, Gómez herself appears to conduct the interviews, which seems to put her subjects at ease. On the Other Island offers a unique insight into the lives, dreams and thoughts of ordinary Cubans.

• Fogo, l’île de feu

  The volcano that dominates Fogo (one of the Cape Verde islands) last erupted in 1951. But more important is the year 1975, when Cape Verde shook off its colonial Portuguese yoke. Four years later, filmmaker Sarah Maldoror, deeply involved in the international decolonization movement, filmed this unreserved impression of a population that embraces life on the island, even though hard work is needed to make it flourish.
  
  Without exoticizing, and on an equal footing with the people, she shows the hard work of cultivating the barren volcanic soil, alongside children at play and the market selling food for all. Meanwhile, a narrator explains the background.
  
  All this is a prelude to the celebration of May 1, Labor Day, featuring an enthusiastic tribute to Amilcar Cabral, the hero of the independence, as well as festive horse races and equestrian games, loosely based on a Portuguese legend that has been appropriated. This too is the fire in the title of this documentary produced by the revolutionary government.