Screen Cuba Festival helps restore short films by Elpidio Valdés
MFFC news
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by Natasha Hickman
on: Monday, 7 July 2025
This June Screen Cuba paid £6,700 to the Colombian Film Heritage Foundation as requested by ICAIC, the Cuban film institute, for the restoration of four more animated shorts about Elpidio Valdés, the anti-imperialist cartoon character and the work of the late Cuban filmmaker Juan Padrón. The shorts were El Machete (1975), Elpidio Valdés asalta al convoy (1976), El Clarin Mambí (1976) and Elpidio Valdés vs. policia de New York (1976). The funds were raised from screenings proceeds, merchandise sales and donations.
On social media, the president of ICAIC, Alexis Triana, described this as “the best news,” coinciding with the institute celebrating the 65th anniversary of its animation studios.
“On behalf of the Cuban film movement, we are infinitely grateful to Rob Miller's team and the Cuba solidarity campaign in the United Kingdom for this extraordinary contribution for the second consecutive year,” he wrote. The institute presented a special ICAIC medal to CSC for the work of Screen Cuba.
Meanwhile a quantity of material aid is on its way to the Cuban film institute as requested for use by the restoration archive team in Havana. This includes almost 1000 pairs of handling gloves and other protective clothing plus cine film splicing materials, purchased by the Music Fund for Cuba UK charity.
Also in June the Juan Padrón short ‘Elpidio Valdés una Aventura’ (1974), restored by the support of Screen Cuba last year, was screened at the Children’s International Film Festival in Kingston, London as part of an international showcase, together with a short film made by children in Havana, presented to local London schoolchildren.