 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
Thursday, April 6, 2006, 7:00 pm  This historic drama by Sergio Giral, the best known of the Black Cuban film directors, which chronicles the slavery period in the Maluala region of Cuba, the gradual rise of rebellion against colonial traditions, and the ultimate freedom that resulted.
Maluala takes us into a palenque, a settlement of escaped slaves, hidden in Cuba’s eastern mountains, where discord is sown between black kings by clever subversives working for the Spanish government. Gallo, the black chieftain, together with his cohort, Coba, present a petition for land and liberty to the Spanish colonists. Governor Escudero offers liberty if the rebellious villages will be dismantled and their men offer themselves in surrender. He promises that they will be freed shortly thereafter. Three chieftains agree, but Gallo and Coba refuse. Maluala is the last film in the trilogy of historical feature films directed by Sergio Giral on the subject of slavery in Cuba. El Otro Franciso (1975) and Rancheador/Slave Hunter (1976) are the preceding titles. This collection of films tells one of the least discussed aspects of the slave trade - the story of Africans in Cuba who resisted bondage, escaped, and formed fugitive palenque communities that became centers of resistance. |
|
|
 |
Past 2005 Screenings: June | July | August |
|
|
 |
|
||
 |
|
||
 |
|
||
 |
|
||