Cuban filmmaker Enrique Colina died today in Havana of cancer. He was a renowned director who also worked as a film critic and a professor at the EICTV, and was the popular host of the film show 24 x segundo in Cuban television for over 30 years.
Born April 27, 1944 in Havana, Colina graduated in French and Hispanic Language and Literature from the University of Havana. He began his professional career at the Cuban Film Institute (ICAIC) in 1962 and worked at the National Council of Culture as an interpreter. His work as a film critic began in 1968, becoming the host of the iconic television show dedicated to cinema.
In 1984, Colina he made his first documentary, Aesthetics /Estética, which is a criticism of the poor aesthetic quality of specific products that contribute to perpetuate expressions of bad taste in the Cuban population. The following year he directed the documentary Neighbors / Vecinos, examining the real and potential problems that can develop among neighbors living in public housing.
Other documentary film credits include Jau (1986), Bungling / Chapucerías (1986), The Unicorn / El unicornio (1978) and The King of the Jungle / El rey de la selva (1991). In 2003 he made his debut fiction film Between Two Hurricanes / Entre ciclones, about a dissatisfied man who sees a chance to improve his lot in life when he meets an alluring photographer. The film premiered at the 42nd International Critics' Week at the Cannes Film Festival.
More recently, Colina directed the documentary films Bowling Pins in Cuba and An Eternal Friendship / Los bolos en Cuba y una eterna amistad (2011), and La vaca de mármol / The Marble Cow (2013), recreating the legend of Fidel Castro’s mythical cow that broke the Guinness record for milk production in three milkings in a single day in January 1982.
In addition to his work as a filmmaker, he taught courses and workshops on filmmaking at various local and international universities and schools, and served as a professor at the San Antonio de los Baños International School of Film and TV (EICTV), where he also headed the documentary program.
