Humberto Solás (4 December 1941 – 17 September 2008) was a Cuban

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

, credited with directing the film '' Lucía'' (1968), which explored the lives of Cuban women during different periods in Cuban history. His cinematic style borrows from

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, theatre and opera director, and screenwriter. He was one of the fathers of Italian neorealism, cinematic neorealism, but later ...

's mise en scene and is permeated by sometimes heavy

melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...

. He started making shorts at a very young age and directed his first medium length film ''Manuela'' in 1967. The success of this film led him to direct ''Lucía'', told in three stories from three different moments of Cuban history, each seen through the eyes of a different woman named Lucia. Solás won 13 awards for filmmaking and has been nominated for an additional nine. His 1968 film '' Lucía'' won the Golden Prize and the Prix FIPRESCI at the 6th Moscow International Film Festival. His 1985 film '' A Successful Man'' was entered into the 15th Moscow International Film Festival. In 1977 he was a member of the jury at the 10th Moscow International Film Festival. He served on the jury twice at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

, in 1977 and 1997. In 2003, he founded Gibara's Poor Cinema Festival, "open to filmmakers with limited funds". Solás was awarded Cuba's National Film Prize in 2005. Humberto Solás died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

on September 17, 2008, at the age of 66.

Filmography

Solás directed twenty-four films, from '' La Huida'' in 1959 to '' Barrio Cuba'' and '' Adela'' in 2005, wrote twelve and produced one.Filmography
on IMDB The following is an incomplete filmography: *1958: '' La Huida'' *1963: '' El refrato'' (short) Filmihulluno 6/1970 p. 22 *1964: '' El Acoso'' (short) *1967: '' Manuela'' *1968: '' Lucía'' *1972: '' Un dia de noviembre'' *1975: '' Cantata de Chile'' *1981: '' Cecilia'' *1986: '' Un hombre de exito'' *1991: '' El siglo de las Luces'' *2001: '' Miel para Oshun'' *2005: '' Barrio Cuba'' *2005: '' Adela''

References

External links

*
The Independent: Humberto Solas: Director who told the stories of Cuba's struggles under Castro
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solas, Humberto 1941 births 2008 deaths Cuban film directors Deaths from cancer in Cuba