Organized by the Cuban Embassy in Costa Rica, the cycle coincides with the 171st birthday, on January 28, of Cuban independence hero and intellectual José Martí (1853-1895).

One of the objectives is to bring Cubans and Costa Ricans closer to the extensive filmography produced in Cuba and motion pictures of all genres, from historical and biographical to comedies and contemporary dramas.

According to the critics, “José Martí, El Ojo del Canario” depicts the writer and Cuban independence hero’s teenage years, a period in which an essential part of his personality was developed.

After extensive research, the filmmaker brought a living, human Martí to the big screen amid the contradictions of a time when Cuba was fighting for its independence from Spanish colonialism.

Produced by Wanda, the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industries (ICAIC), and Televisión Española, the film won awards for Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction at the 36th Ibero-American Film Festival in Huelva, Spain, in 2010.

It also won 12 awards at the 32nd International Festival of New Latin American Cinema in Havana, including the Coral Award for Best Direction and Best Art Direction, besides the Award of the Cuban Association of Film, Radio, and Television of the Union of Cuban Journalists (UPEC), the Cuban Association of the Film Press, the United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF), and Best Poster.

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