Sumbe, New Cuban Film on Angola Epic

Sumbe, New Cuban Film on Angola EpicHavana, Aug 11. – A new film about the Cuban presence in the war in Angola, this time focused on the battle carried out by teachers, construction workers and doctors in Sumbe, will premier Thursday in the capital´s Charles Chaplin movie theater.

Directed by filmmaker Eduardo Moya, the film is the second part of a trilogy begun in 2008 with the film Kangamba, by Rogelio Paris, which closes with the battle in Cuito Cuanavale (1987-1988).

Moya said in a news conference that this film reflects the real history of 175 women and men who fought for 30 continuous hours against five elite forces of the UNITA armed opposition in March 1984.

"This is a tribute to those combatants who defended freedom and independence of a brother people and above all a historic testimony of glorious pages about the solidarity of our country, which remained for future generations," he said.

Shot entirely in Cuba, the movie tells in one and half hours how the UNITA forces tried to capture a group of foreign collaborators who were there, including Russians and Bulgarians, to cause an international impact.

The movie´s music was written by Jose Maria Vitier and includes performances by Roberto Perdomo, Fernando Hechavarria, Rene de la Cruz and Jorge Martinez, the latter in the role of colonel lieutenant Juan A. Castillo Vazquez, who was the main adviser to the full-length feature.(Prensa Latina)