Set in 1790s Cuba, this powerful drama follows a devout sugar plantation owner who tries to prevent a rebellion by inviting 12 enslaved men to share his Easter meal. Restored in 2020 and presented here as part of the Screen Cuba Festival, Tomás Gutiérrez Alea’s remarkable film is a bold and at times surreal reflection on power, freedom, and resistance.

Awards: Golden Colón Jury Prize at the Huelva Ibero-American Film Festival; the First Golden Hugo Award at the Chicago International Film Festival; the Grand Prize of the Figueira da Foz International Film Festival, Portugal; the Grand prize of the Peoples Jury at the São Paulo International Film Festival and the First Grand Prize at the Iberian and Latin American Film Festival of Biarritz; 1977 the London International Film Festival chose it as Outstanding Film of the Year.

Content warning: contains images of violence.

Reviews

“An allegory of the religious hypocrisy of a plantation owner, brilliantly played by the exiled Chilean actor Nelson Villagra, towards his enslaved men, the film is a tour de force of black comedy.”
Michael Chanan, author ‘Cuban Cinema’

Screen Cuba: Films to Change the World (15-28 March 2026)
Screen Cuba celebrates Cuba’s pioneering homegrown cinema industry, looking at the achievements and challenges of the Cuban people through the decolonising lenses of their filmmakers since the 1959 revolution, and presenting films rarely screened in the UK. With a range of directors and diverse themes, it presents inspiring shorts, ground-breaking features, documentaries, and discussions with Cuban film specialists.

This is the third edition of the festival and this year celebrates resistance and love. The festival aims to provide a platform for showcasing some of the best of Cuban cinema, in the face of the inhumane US blockade against the island that inhibits international distribution as well as limiting filmmaking resources. The festival also supports ICAIC in the restoration of films from its archive.

Screen Cuba is a collaboration between the Music Fund for Cuba charity, the Cuba Solidarity Campaign, the Cuban Embassy UK and the Cuban film institute ICAIC in Havana. More info at https://screencuba.uk