Tag Archives for america

Hitch on Film: Letters to a Documentarian

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Anglo-American journalist, Christopher Hitchens, is long-remembered for the incontestable impact he made on the forums of public debate, journalism and free thought. His favourite topic of contestation was the sinister disposition of religion, on which he wrote numerous articles in the New Statesman and The Nation (amongst others), as well as his book, God Is Not Great (2007). On stage, he opposed the notion of the supernatural with such figures as: Al Sharpton, Tariq Ramadan, Tony Blair and his own brother/ideological counterpart, Peter Hitchens. It from these appearances, arguably, where Hitchens finally broke the mainstream. He was also well contested on his support for the Iraq War, especially by former allies on the left. Yet behind the big-spectacle debates and acclaimed non-fiction is a small, rarely looked upon collection of documentaries in which Hitchens acts as the presenter. Whilst these films (Frontiers (1989), Hell’s Angel: Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1994), Princess Diana: The Mourning After (1998), Texas: America Supersized (2004)), served as excellent marketing tools for his literary work, they lack the elegance and erudition Hitch was so admired for.

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I Am Cuba (Soy Cuba) (1964) – Film Review

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I Am Cuba (1964) is a Soviet-Cuban propaganda film directed by veteran filmmaker Mikhail Kalatozov and released at the height of the Cold War. Since the film’s re-release in 1994, it has gone on to be remembered for its stylistic innovation and cinematic originality, despite its antiquated political message. Considering that President Barack Obama has reopened diplomacy between Cuba and the United States, I thought this might be a good time to look back on one of the great contributions by Cuba to international cinema.

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