45th Festival of New Latin American Cinema

Culture. Cuba: “The Root of the Olive Tree”: Premiere at the 45th Festival of New Latin American Cinema
The genocide that is perpetuated in the Gaza Strip was denounced this Thursday with the premiere of the documentary The Root of the Olive Tree, at the 45th edition of the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema.

The emblematic Yara cinema in the Cuban capital hosted the screening of this film that is part of the program conceived by the organizers of the Festival to defend the Palestinian Cause through cinema.
Sergio Eguino Viera, director of The Root of the Olive Tree, considered it a pride that a film that denounces the crimes of Zionism in Palestinian land was premiered at this prestigious film festival.

“In 14 months -of Israeli genocide- there are already 45,000 dead, it is easy to say,” - denounced the young Cuban-Bolivian director-, “each figure, each number, represents a life, a family, a dream.”
Sergio recognized in the figure of Ernesto Che Guevara a symbol that unites Cubans with Palestine, “because the enemy we have in common is imperialism, they are the same ones who finance the genocide and the occupation in Palestine, those who maintain the blockade on Cuba and they are the same ones who finance the coups d’état throughout Latin America. So we cannot stop talking about Palestine and much less now when the hegemonic media simply stop talking about Palestine.”
“Netflix eliminated all its films from its schedule, here in Cuba No. Thank you Cuba for that,” the director thanked the Cuban government for its willingness to create spaces that denounce the genocide that “Israel” commits against the Palestinian people.

The Root of the Olive Tree is the latest production by La Chaski and Resumen Latinoamericano, in collaboration with the Pan-Arab Network Al Mayadeen. It tells the stories of Watan, Omaima, Murid, Baylasan and Bassel, told through letters that are testimonies not only of the pain of a noble people. They attest to the bravery, resistance and hopes of the Palestinians to see their land free, from the river to the sea.
The five protagonists of the film attended the presentation of the documentary, accompanied by Graciela Ramírez Cruz, producer of this film, considered by the director, Sergio Eguino, as a source of inspiration for “what Graciela represents in solidarity and the fight for the Palestinian cause.”
Graciela Ramírez, head of the Cuban correspondent office of Resumen Latinoamericano, also thanked the film for its wonderful reception at the 45th Festival of New Latin American Cinema, and “above all, the Cuban government, for being one of the first countries in the world to stand by the Palestinian cause, Fidel, Raúl and Che Guevara, and today Díaz-Canel; the first president and one of the few who has marched alongside the Palestinian people and alongside the Cuban people through the streets of Cuba without ceasing to demand Palestine’s right to exist.” The Argentine journalist said at the presentation of the documentary, on behalf of Wafica Mehdi, director of Latin America at Al Mayadeen, and Carlos Aznárez, general director of Resumen Latinoamericano.
The premiere of La Raíz del Olivo was attended by Alexis Triana, president of ICAIC, Lis Cuesta, director of events at the Ministry of Culture and wife of the president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel; Mariela Castro Espín, Director of the National Center for Sexual Education (CENESEX), Aleida Guevara and a representation of the Diplomatic Corps accredited in Cuba.
A long, emotional applause from the packed seats in the central hall of the Yara and the stalls on the upper floor.
The premiere of La Raíz del Olivo was applauded by an audience that showed great sensitivity towards an urgent and decisive cause in the history of humanity.
The team of this documentary was made up of Carolina González López as assistant director, Annalie Rueda Cardero, as part of the research team, Fabiana Mansur as technical support, Ernesto Eguino Viera in the musicalization and the contribution of the Bolivian plastic artist Manuel Morales Centellas with the poster.
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