Kuala Lumpur October 13, 2025. The Embassy of Cuba in Malaysia exhibited at the 23rd Latin American Film Festival the Cuban Film: José Martí the Eye of the Canary as part of the celebration of Cuban culture this October.
The Latin American Film Festival in Kuala Lumpur with its venue at Sunway University brings the possibility to show a representation of the rich and diverse culture of our region, in particular our cinema production.
The Eye of the Canary is drama film, written and directed by the prestigious and internationally renowned Cuban film Director: Fernando Pérez Valdés.
The movie is inspired by the childhood and adolescence of José Martí, the National Hero of Cuba, it is not a biography, it is a spiritual journey through the life of a boy who became one of the prominent figures in Latin American Literature, and a fighter against colonialism.
The film explores his family relationships, friendships, contact with nature, and the feelings of identity. The film seeks to show the complexity of everyday life that shaped Martí's personality and explains his love for freedom.
The Cubans talks about José Martí with proud, his life was an example of thought and action. He also was journalist, during the exile was Honorary Consul of Uruguay and Argentina in New York, a fighter for the unity of Nuestra America, and orator of continental stature; that since 19 century warned us of the ambitions of the brutal North against our Latin-American nations. He died in the battlefield for the independence of Cuba, and left us a beautiful literary work and a legacy of moral values as a greater defender of human dignity.
Cuba has a moto: Cuba is Culture!, and in the field of Cinema, Havana has the privilege of been for the last 45 years, the host of the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema. The movie we will share today was the winner at the 32nd International Festival of Cinema in Havana, of the Coral Award for Direction, and Coral Award for Artistic Direction.
The Cuban Embassy in Malaysia extends its gratitude to the participants and distinguished personalities who joined us, and in particular to all those who made this film festival possible, especially the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC).