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Filmmaker gives Camaguey a dose of Hollywood


Scene from the film, Pablo
Scene from the film, Pablo

Tired of making Havana the center of each film production, the young director chose his hometown as the set of his next film.

For some, it takes years to acheive success. But for Yosmani Acosta, all the stars seem to have aligned for his first attempt. The young filmmaker and director of Pablo, has seen his work celebrated in his hometown of Camagüey, throughout Cuba, and even in New York.

Tired of seeing Havana as the center of film production, Acosta chose his native Camaguey as the location for his film, so that the public of Cuba and Latin America could see his people. In Camaguey, he also found the actors for the upcoming flick, who except for Omar Franco, Aramis Delgado and Faustino Acosta, were all amateurs.

During auditions of over a thousand people, including 400 children, the excitement in the city was palpable. "It was like Hollywood in Camagüey," describes Yosmani, who along with his production team, trained the novice ensemble for two months.
Directing children was one of the greattest challenges for Acosta. His professors advised against it, especially since this was his first film. Despite the warnings, or perhaps because of them, all went well for the filmmaker--he was great with the children. The key, he revealed, was "treating them as equals."

Despite the time spent on research, and finding and training the actors, the entire project was finished in a year and seven months, thanks largely to donations from individuals and institutions.
Acosta took home the award for Best Director at the New York International Film Festival and it is opening up new opportunities for Acosta, who is preparing his next film. Without going into details, he said he has already completed 90 percent of the script and the theme revolves around emigration, "and not just the Cuban," he said.
Although it is too early to define his path going forward, Acosta confesses his penchant for social issues. He notes that though people go to the movies to have fun, and to laugh, they also go to reflect and "I am able to sensitize the audience on certain issues."

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    Lizandra Diaz Blanco

    Lizandra Díaz Blanco is a journalist and radio host. At The Marti's, she alternates between hosting two radio shows: Periodismo.com and 1800 Online, with reports for the martinoticias.com website. She studied journalism at the University "Marta Abreu" of Las Villas in Cuba. Follow Lizandra on Twitter: @lizandraonmarti
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