Francis Ford Coppola is in Cuba

By: Susana Méndez

Famous US director, producer and scriptwriter Francis Ford Coppola (Detroit, Michigan, 1939) just arrived yesterday afternoon to Cuba after an invitation extended by San Antonio de los Baños International Film and Television School (EICTV, after its initials in Spanish).

His son Roman Francois, also a filmmaker, and his grandchildren Gia, Pascale Electra and Marcello Archimedes accompany the director of the mythical film The Godfather (1972) in this visit, whose main goal is to exchange with the students from this prestigious artistic and teaching institution.

Coppola will give conferences to the EICTV´s students. He will also watch some of their productions and he will offer his opinions about them. He has declared that what interests him the most is to talk with the young filmmakers about their artistic concerns, present trends and the future of cinema.

During his stay in Cuba, which will last until July 19, he will meet Roberto Smith, president of the Cuban Film Institute (ICAIC, after its initials in Spanish), and other representatives of this institution.

The also director of Apocalypse Now (1978), Cotton Club (1984) and Dracula (1992), received last May the Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts for his lifetime contribution during its 35^th edition. The jury considered his personality to be “essential for understanding the transformation and contradictions of the industry and art of filmmaking, to whose development he has greatly contributed”.

Coppola, a descendant of an Italian American family, will cook for the students and the staff of the EICTV just as he has done before.

Source: Cubarte