Ernesto Daranas

Last updated
Ernesto Daranas Serrano
DARANAS 2 comp 2.jpg
Daranas in 2010
Born (1961-12-07) December 7, 1961 (age 62)
Havana, Cuba
Nationality Cuban
Occupation(s)Filmmaker and screenwriter
Notable work

Ernesto Daranas Serrano (born December 7, 1961) is a Cuban filmmaker. Daranas' three feature films have had unprecedented success in Cuba and were submitted to the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Daranas is a Latin Grammy nominee for Best Long Form Music Video and a recipient of the King of Spain Award. His filmography includes Sergio & Sergei (2017), starring Ron Perlman, and Behavior, often considered the greatest Cuban film of the 21st century. [6]

Contents

Biography

Ernesto Daranas Serrano was born in Havana on December 7, 1961.

His father, Manuel Ángel Daranas Valdés (1934-2000) was an actor, teacher and writer who gained national recognition as the author of the adventure radio series La flecha de cobre (The copper arrow), an audience success that was on the air for nearly a decade in the late 1960s and early 1970s. [7] [8]

Ernesto Daranas' beginnings as a storyteller took place in the radio [9] while still a college student. [10] [11] In 1983, he became a Bachelor in Geography at the Instituto Superior Pedagógico (now University of Educational Sciences). [12]

In the early 90's, Daranas achieved recognition for his radio soap operas addressing contemporary Cuban society in the context of the Special Period. [13]

His directorial debut in television was in 1999–2000 with La tierra más hermosa (The loveliest land), a series of 12 documentaries co-directed with Rolando Almirante. [14] [15] The series explored various aspects of Cuban ethnography, culture, nature and history.

Subsequently, Daranas wrote and/or directed various films for television (see Filmography below) .

In 2004, he wrote and co-directed with Natasha Vázquez Los últimos gaiteiros de La Habana (The last bagpipers of Havana), a documentary about Eduardo Lorenzo, a nonagenarian Galician bagpiper who teaches young Cubans to play the instrument and returns to his native village in Spain after 50 years of absence. [16] This documentary won the Premio Internacional de Periodismo Rey de España (2004 edition), a prestigious Iberoamerican journalism award. [17]

Also in 2004, Daranas wrote and directed the telefilm ¿La vida en rosa?, a comedy about "the false barrier we sometimes raise between purportedly pure art and popular art". [15] It won the Grand Prize and other six awards at the First National Television Festival of Cuba. [14]

Los dioses rotos (Fallen gods) was Daranas' film directorial debut, in 2008. Daranas wrote a story, based on interviews he'd collected through the years, [18] about a university professor who gets involved in the underworld of prostitution and procuring. The film was made thanks to a fund for low budget projects [19] issued by the Ministry of Culture. [18] It was shot in a digital format and later filmed-out. [20]

The film won the Audience Award and the Film Critics Association Award at the 30th Havana Film Festival. [21] [22] It became a box-office hit and the press called it "the biggest audiovisual event in Cuba of recent times" [23] and "one of the best Cuban films after 2000". [24] It was Cuba's entry to the 82nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. [25]

In 2012, Daranas wrote and directed Bluechacha, a music EPK for Buena Vista Social Club's Manuel Galbán's last album. [26] Bluechacha was nominated that year to the XIII Latin Grammy Award, in the category of Best Long-Form Music Video. [27]

Arguably, it was Behavior (Conducta), released in 2014, the film that garnered Daranas widespread international recognition. [9] [11] [28]

The film tells the story of Chala, an 11-year-old boy who supports his alcoholic and drug addict mother by breeding pigeons and training fighting dogs. When his loving teacher Carmela falls ill and is temporarily replaced by an inexperienced young teacher, Chala is dispatched to a school for children with behavioral problems. [29]

The film premiered in February 2014 in Havana and then played at the Málaga Film Festival, [30] before having its US premieres simultaneously at the Chicago Latino Film Festival and Havana Film Festival New York in April 2014. [28] Behavior was then screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. [31] It was selected as the Cuban entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards, but was not nominated. [32]

The film went on to be screened in many festivals around the world and won many accolades, including a Goya nomination. [33]

In 2017, Sergio and Sergei was released, a comedy set in Cuba in 1991, describing the vicissitudes in the friendship between a Cuban ham radio enthusiast and a Soviet cosmonaut, trapped in the Mir space station during the USSR collapse.

The film was a co-production between Cuba, Spain and the United States. At the time, the press called it the first Cuba-USA narrative co-production in over 50 years, [34] [35] by virtue of the presence of actor Ron Perlman in the movie and his involvement in its distribution through his indie production company Wing and a Prayer Pictures.

The film was selected as the Cuban entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards. [36] However, it was not on the final list of submitted films released by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in October 2018. [37]

In a poll conducted by Cinema Tropical (the New York-based non-profit media arts organization), both Behavior and Sergio and Sergei were included among the 100 most significant Latin-American films of the 2010-2019 decade. [38]

In 2019, Daranas directed the documentary Natalia, about the noted Cuban ethnographer and writer Natalia Bolívar Aróstegui. [39] [40]

Filmography

Feature films

YearTitleDirectorWriter
2008Los dioses rotosYesYes
2014 Behavior YesYes
2015 La emboscada NoYes
2017 Sergio and Sergei YesYes

Documentaries

YearTitleDirectorWriterNotes
2000La tierra más hermosaYesYesSeries of 12 documentaries. Co-directed with Rolando Almirante. [14]
2003Ana y las cotorrasYesYesCo-directed with Randol Menéndez. [41]
2004Los últimos gaiteiros de La HabanaYesYesCo-directed with Natasha Vázquez. Original idea by Rigoberto Senarega.
2005Fillas de GaliciaYesYesCo-directed with Natasha Vázquez. [42]
2009PeregrinosYesYes [43]
20112, con Omara y Chucho (Music EPK)YesYes
2012Bluechacha (Music EPK)YesYes [44]
2019NataliaYesYes [45] [46]

Films for television

YearTitleDirectorWriterNotes
2002Un cuento de caminoNoYesDirected by Paco Anca
2003El hombre de VenusYesYesCo-directed with Charlie Medina. [15]
2003El otroNoYesDirected by Charlie Medina.
2004¿La vida en rosa?YesYes [20]
2010KneppNoYesAdapted screenplay from the play by Jorge Goldenberg. Directed by Charlie Medina. [47]

See also

Related Research Articles

The music of Cuba, including its instruments, performance, and dance, comprises a large set of unique traditions influenced mostly by west African and European music. Due to the syncretic nature of most of its genres, Cuban music is often considered one of the richest and most influential regional music in the world. For instance, the son cubano merges an adapted Spanish guitar (tres), melody, harmony, and lyrical traditions with Afro-Cuban percussion and rhythms. Almost nothing remains of the original native traditions, since the native population was exterminated in the 16th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema of Cuba</span> Filmmaking in Cuba

Cinema arrived in Cuba at the beginning of the 20th century. Before the Cuban Revolution of 1959, about 80 full-length films were produced in Cuba. Most of these films were melodramas. Following the revolution, Cuba entered what is considered the "Golden age" of Cuban cinema.

Tomás Gutiérrez Alea was a Cuban film director and screenwriter. Gutiérrez Alea wrote and directed more than twenty features, documentaries, and short films, which are known for his sharp insight into post-Revolutionary Cuba, and possess a delicate balance between dedication to the revolution and criticism of the social, economic, and political conditions of the country.

Fernando Ramón Martínez Heredia was a prominent Cuban revolutionary thinker and politician. Martínez was a founding member of the Cuban Communist Party, and as a member of the July 26 Movement, he took part in the Revolution which overthrow the Batista dictatorship.

Moraima Secada (born María Micaela Secada Ramos, known to her admirers as La Mora, was a temperamental singer who created a special style of interpretation within the Cuban music genre of filin.

Hilda Aurora Vidal Valdés is a Cuban artist, specializing in painting, drawing, design, sculpture, collage, artistic tapestry, and papier mache.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendy Guerra</span> Cuban writer

Wendy Guerra, formally Wendy Guerra Torres, is a Cuban poet and novelist, based in Miami.

Cuban musical theatre has its own distinctive style and history. From the 18th century to modern times, popular theatrical performances included music and often dance as well. Many composers and musicians had their careers launched in the theatres, and many compositions got their first airing on the stage. In addition to staging some European operas and operettas, Cuban composers gradually developed ideas which better suited their creole audience. Characters on stages began to include elements from Cuban life, and the music began to reflect a fusion between African and European contributions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlos Enrique Prado Herrera</span> Cuban artist

Carlos Enrique Prado is a contemporary Cuban artist recognized for his contributions to the fields of ceramic sculpture and public art. Currently residing in Miami, Florida, Prado is actively engaged in both the creation of his art and the sharing of his expertise as a professor at the University of Miami in Coral Gables. His artistic endeavors span various mediums, including sculpture, ceramics, drawing, digital art, performance, installations, and interventions, showcasing versatility and creativity throughout his career. One of his notable recent achievements is the completion of the Ronald Reagan Equestrian Monument, a major public sculpture commissioned by Miami-Dade County and situated at the Tropical Park in Miami, Florida. In 2023, Carlos was selected as a member of the International Academy of Ceramics (AIC/IAC) based in Geneva, Switzerland. His affiliation with the AIC/IAC not only signifies his international recognition but also underscores his active engagement with the global ceramics community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alberto Yarini</span> Cuban racketeer and pimp (1882–1910)

Alberto Yarini y Ponce de León was a Cuban racketeer and pimp during the period of the Cuban War of Independence against Spain. Yarini was well known in his time, is Cuba's most famous pimp, and came to symbolize the concept of Cubanidad, the Cuban national identity, to many Cubans, long after his death.

<i>Behavior</i> (film) 2014 film

Behavior is a 2014 Cuban drama film directed by Ernesto Daranas. In English writing, the film is usually referred to by the title Behavior. The film premiered in February 2014, and played at the Málaga Film Festival before having its US premieres simultaneously at the Chicago Latino Film Festival and Havana Film Festival New York in April 2014. Behavior was then screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. It was selected as the Cuban entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.

Reynaldo Agustín Miravalles de la Luz, known as Reinaldo Miravalles, was a Cuban actor residing in Miami.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirta Yáñez</span> Cuban philologist, teacher and writer

Mirta Gloria Yáñez Quiñoa is a Cuban philologist, teacher and writer. She graduated from high school in Raúl Cepero Bonilla Special Pre-university Institute where she was considered a high-performing student. She entered the University of Havana in 1965, graduating five years later. She earned a PhD in philology (1992) at the same university, specializing in Latin American and Cuban literature, as well as in studies on Cuban women's literary discourse. She worked for many years teaching and conducting research at the University of Havana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aymée Nuviola</span> Musical artist

Aymée Regla Nuviola Suárez is a Cuban singer, pianist, composer and actress, nicknamed "La Sonera del Mundo". She is also known for having played Celia Cruz in the Colombian telenovela Celia.

<i>Sergio and Sergei</i> 2017 film

Sergio and Sergei is a 2017 Cuban drama film directed by Ernesto Daranas. It was selected as the Cuban entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards. However, it was not on the final list of submitted films released by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in October 2018.

Ana Andrea Cairo Ballester was a Cuban writer, researcher, and professor of literature and philology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tendencia</span> Cuban heavy metal band

Tendencia is a Cuban heavy metal band, regarded as one of the most important rock bands in Cuba and widely known throughout Latin America.

Idania Martínez Grandales is a Cuban broadcaster, journalist and academic, and professor of voice-over at the Faculty of Communication of the University of Havana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yuliet Cruz</span>

Yuliet Cruz Delgado is a Cuban actress and television host. Known for her work across various film and television productions, she has starred in films such as Behavior (2014), La película de Ana (2012), Melaza (2012) and Habana Eva (2010). She has also participated in theatrical productions such as Aire frío, Fíchenla si pueden and Talco, under the direction of Carlos Celdrán at Argos Teatro.

References

  1. ↑ AV451, Redacción (2018-10-01). "La coproducción participada por España 'Sergio & Serguéi', elegida por Cuba para la carrera al Oscar". Audiovisual451 (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-06-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ↑ Kilday, Gregg (9 October 2014). "Oscars Attract Best Foreign-Language Film Submissions From a Record 83 Countries". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  3. ↑ "Conducta". NW Film Center. 2017-06-02. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  4. ↑ Aguilera, Milene (2018-10-03). "La película Sergio & Serguéi es la candidata cubana a los premios Oscar y Goya". Vistar Magazine (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  5. ↑ "Academy Awards: foreign language entries". Screen Daily. 2009-09-18. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  6. ↑ "Las diez mejores películas cubanas de todos los tiempos". 26 October 2020.
  7. ↑ Cue Sierra, Mayra (2015-05-17). "Manuel Ángel Daranas en el recuerdo". Envivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  8. ↑ "Mario Limonta Louit, orgullo de pueblo". Radiocubana (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  9. 1 2 Sittón, Winnie T. (October 2019). "Ernesto Daranas, a born storyteller". www.panorama2go.com. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  10. ↑ Rodríguez Tejeda, Yoel (2019-10-07). "Ernesto Daranas: "I've never been censored, but it has happened to many people"". OnCubaNews English. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  11. 1 2 Vargas, Andrew S. (2014-04-04). "Ernesto Daranas, Director of Smash Hit 'Conducta' on Making Films in Cuba". Remezcla. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  12. ↑ "Universidad Pedagógica Enrique José Varona". University24K (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  13. ↑ Valladares, Sheyla (2013-01-27). "When Ernesto Daranas was on the Radio". OnCubaNews English. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  14. 1 2 3 Armas Fonseca, Paquita (2005). "¿De dónde son? De Almirante". La Jiribilla. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  15. 1 2 3 Armas Fonseca, Paquita (2015-05-31). "Ernesto Daranas y Paquita Armas Fonseca conversan". Cine cubano, la pupila insomne (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  16. ↑ Los últimos gaiteros de La Habana (2004) (in Spanish), retrieved 2020-07-01
  17. ↑ "Premios Rey de España". Agencia EFE (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  18. 1 2 "Ernesto Daranas: "I've never been censored, but it has happened to many people"". OnCubaNews English. 2019-10-07. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  19. ↑ "Ernesto Daranas, Director of Smash Hit 'Conducta' on Making Films in Cuba | Film". Remezcla. 2014-04-04. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  20. 1 2 del Río, Joel (January 2009). "Impenitente celebración de buen cine". La Jiribilla. Archived from the original on 2019-11-20. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  21. ↑ "Corales del 30 Festival de Cine de La Habana". www.granma.cu. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  22. ↑ "En la recta final los Premios Colaterales". www.granma.cu. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  23. ↑ "Los dioses rotos, el mayor acontecimiento audiovisual en Cuba de los últimos tiempos". www.juventudrebelde.cu (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  24. ↑ Armas Fonseca, Paquita (2009). "El tiempo dirá la última palabra". La Jiribilla.
  25. ↑ "Academy Awards: foreign language entries". Screen. 2009-09-18. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  26. ↑ "El disco Blue Cha Cha de Manuel Galván". OnCubaNews (in Spanish). 2012-09-05. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  27. ↑ "XIII Latin Grammy Awards Nominations". Latin Grammy Awards. Archived from the original on 2012-12-28.
  28. 1 2 Feinstein, Howard (2014-04-13). "Behavior (review)". Screen Daily.
  29. ↑ "Conducta: Ernesto Daranas's smash hit » LaHabana.com". LaHabana.com. 2014-12-01. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  30. ↑ "Palmarés oficial del 17 Festival de Málaga" (PDF). Festival de Málaga Cine Español. March 2014.
  31. ↑ Cipriani, Casey (2014-08-12). "TIFF Adds 'Clouds of Sils Maria' and 'Two Days, One Night,' Reveals 5 More Lineups". IndieWire. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  32. ↑ Harvey, Dennis (2015-01-16). "Film Review: 'Behavior'". Variety. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  33. ↑ "Spain's Goya Awards Unveils Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  34. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (2016-10-06). "Ron Perlman On Shooting First Cuban/American Co-Production In Decades, With 'Sergio And Sergei'". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  35. ↑ Rodríguez, Andrés (2016-10-25). "The Cuban-American thaw reaches outer space". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  36. ↑ AV451, Redacción (2018-10-01). "La coproducción participada por España 'Sergio & Serguéi', elegida por Cuba para la carrera al Oscar". Audiovisual451 (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-07-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  37. ↑ "87 COUNTRIES IN COMPETITION FOR 2018 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OSCAR". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  38. ↑ "The 10 Best Latin American Films of the Decade (2010-2019)". Cinema Tropical. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  39. ↑ ""Natalia", el nuevo documental de Ernesto Daranas". OnCubaNews (in Spanish). 2019-08-15. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  40. ↑ Infante, Rubén Ricardo (2019-08-22). "Las muchas vidas de Natalia Bolívar". La Jiribilla (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  41. ↑ González Romero, Mileidys (14 August 2015). "Randolph Menéndez siempre se inclinó por la naturaleza". Televisión Cubana (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  42. ↑ "Se estrena el documental Fillas de Galicia que retrata los años más duros de la emigración de una gallega en Cuba | Xuventude Galega | Juventud Gallega". xuventude.galiciadigital.com (in Galician). Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  43. ↑ "Peregrinos se estrena en La Habana - Xunta de Galicia".
  44. ↑ "Yale MacMillan Center -Latino and Iberian Film Festival". Yale MacMillan Center. April 2018. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  45. ↑ "Life, Work of Natalia Bolivar Summarized in a Documentary". Radio Havana Cuba. 2019-08-20. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  46. ↑ ""Natalia", el nuevo documental de Ernesto Daranas". OnCubaNews (in Spanish). 2019-08-15. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  47. ↑ "Cartelera de la TV cubana". Bohemia. 2019-12-17. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.