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A press conference on the exhibition of the Cuban-Spanish-British-German co-production Yuli at the 40th International Festival of New Latin American Cinema was held at the Taganana Hall of the National Hotel of Cuba with the presence of the dancer and choreographer Carlos Acosta - to whom the film is dedicated, which also has it as the protagonist-, the Spanish director Iciar Bollaín, the Scottish scriptwriter Paul Laverty, the Cuban producer Claudia Calviño along with other foreign producers, the dancer and choreographer become excellent actor Santiago Alfonso, the actresses Laura de la Uz and Andrea Doimeadiós, and the journalist and critic Joel del Río, who served as host of the meeting.

According to his synopsis, "Yuli recounts the life of Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta, legend of dance and first black dancer in interpreting some of the most famous ballet roles originally written for whites, in companies like the Houston Ballet or the Royal Ballet of London, where he has been the first dancer for more than fifteen years. The film covers from its hard childhood to its maturity, a stage starred by the dancer himself, who, despite success and international recognition, never forgot his origins ».

Paul Laverty, who has nine screenplays by Ken Loach, including eight feature films, confessed to the audience how difficult it was to face a project like this. «I prefer the invented or dead protagonists. And the big problem with Carlos Acosta is that he is very much alive ». Later he emphasized: «We have to create in our lives more respect for contradictions, open ourselves to trust, listen to other voices. That's important for scripts, for history, for society. It is necessary to respect the different ways of seeing reality ».

Iciar stated that his emotional ties with Cuba are very solid, since she has traveled to the island several times to participate in the Festival and to teach courses at the International Film and Television School of San Antonio de los Baños. «Carlos, for some time -the Spanish filmmaker added- wanted to write a film about his life based on the book he had already published, and finally he entrusted it to Paul, who proposed to me to do it together. It was a beautiful and incredible story about a boy who did not want to be a dancer and ends up being a great star, the intense relationship with his father. The fact that Prince Romeo was white and Carlos assumed it was a kick in the heart of the establishment. That someone, with a lot of sacrifice, has broken so many taboos, opened so many roads, is very beautiful, and we should take it to the cinema. That this film is assumed as very Cuban is our greatest prize, our greatest gift ».

With regard to the revelation that for the critic and the public has been the intervention as an actor of Santiago Alfonso, he had words that awoke the ovation of those present: «I do a choreography and the one who moves does so from what I dictate. It is putting people to do what you cannot do. The dancer has to be subordinated to the choreographer. A good choreographer turns a bad dancer into a star. I surrendered to the director of the film. I was a neophyte; the director was her. Talent is very important, but discipline is fundamental». 

Yuli had its premiere in Cuba in a special performance that had to be repeated in the majestic theater Carlos Marx. If the five thousand capacities of this colossus were not enough to satisfy the cravings of the Havana public, it is to be expected then that the film - sure candidate to the Popularity Prize - needs in the future of many days a full room so that it can be seen by its Cuban public potential, the same one that can endorse what the journalists said Carlos Acosta about his film: «This is not my story, it is the story of all Cubans, a universal story: that of a humble family that exceeds all the obstacles. It is a story that should give hope. It is important that some child, somewhere on this planet, be reflected in it».