Introduction
Veritas goes beyond simple historical narration; it is a cinematic essay that unveils a crucial event of the Cold War: the invasion of the Bay of Pigs. Directed by Cuban filmmaker Eliecer Jiménez Almeida, Veritas offers us the opportunity to explore a fresh and moving perspective on a subject that has been the subject of debate and controversy for decades. It presents the events surrounding this conflict and unravels the political complexities and motivations behind the protagonists.
Through meticulous research and careful selection of testimonies, Veritas sheds light on the facts and myths surrounding this crucial moment in Cuban history. The documentary immerses us in the complexity of war and the dehumanization that accompanies it, posing uncomfortable questions about human nature and the devastating consequences of survival.
Veritas (Documentary)
Synopsis
The invasion of the Bay of Pigs (Cuba, 1961) is revealed to us, 60 years later, in the voices of its protagonists. Narrated with the distance of an entire lifetime, they recount the events ranging from military preparation, the battle on Cuban beaches, the humiliations of imprisonment, and their liberation. The horrors of war, the feeling of abandonment (due to the promised aid not materializing), are exhaustively re-lived by these men who, from exile, have never stopped missing their country.
The movie
Technical Details
- Executive Producer: Carlos León Acosta
- Production Manager: Angélica Loucraft
- Producer (in Havana): Ricardo Figueredo
- Director: Eliecer Jiménez-Almeida
- Cinematography: Eliecer Jiménez-Almeida
- Editors: Jorge (Tuti) Abello and Eliecer Jiménez-Almeida
- Original Music: Sergio Valdés
- Sound Mixing: Rubén Valdés
- Graphic Design: Cabilla ST
- Color Correction: Alex Medina
- Drone: Eliecer Jiménez-Almeida
About the Director
Eliecer Jiménez Almeida (Vertientes, Cuba 1983) is a filmmaker and video artist. He graduated with a Master’s in Journalism from Florida International University, Miami, FL (2020), studied documentary filmmaking at the EICTV in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba (2012), and attended the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program in the USA (2016). In 2008, Jiménez Almeida founded ikaik films, a project dedicated to the production and development of experimental cinema.
His film Persona (2014) won the Best Short Film Award at the Latin and Iberian Film Festival (LIFFY) at Yale University (2016). It was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, and the Ludwig Forum, Aachen, Germany (2018). Usufruct received the Special Prize from EICTV, San Antonio de los Baños at the X International Poor Cinema Festival of Gibara, Cuba (2012). La faz de las aguas was awarded the Short Film Prize at the Handle Climate Change International Film Festival, China (2017). En un paquete de spaguettis was selected for the International Reina Sofía Award, Spain (2011).
Jiménez Almeida has been invited as a visiting filmmaker to various academic institutions in the U.S., including Yale University, Columbia University, New York University (NYU), City University of New York (CUNY), University of Miami (UM), and Florida International University (FIU).
His work has been exhibited in the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, China, India, Argentina, Venezuela, Peru, El Salvador, and Guatemala. All his films have been produced outside the main Cuban film industry.
Festival Awards
- 39th Miami Film United States. Official Selection.
- Dumbo Film United States. Semifinalist.
- The Paus Premieres United States. Official Selection.
- Documenta Germany. Official Selection.
- Urban Mediamakers Film United States. Official Selection.
- Social and Human Rights Film Festival – Cine Chile. Official Selection.
- MICMX – Itinerant Cinema Mexico. Official Selection.
- Chambal International Film India. Official Selection.
- International Film Festival of Italy. Official Selection.
- International Salon of Colombia. Official Selection.
- Ventotene Film Italy. Official Selection.
- Latin and Iberian Film Festival at United States. Official Selection.
- Skiptown Playhouse International Film United States. Official Selection.
- International Film Festival Spain. Official Selection.
Conversatory
- Panelist: Carlos León Acosta (producer), Jorge Abello (editor), Alejandro Ríos (movie critic), and Eliecer Jiménez Almeida (director)
- Sponsors: Cuban Diaspora Film Archive, Bay of Pigs Museum & Library, and Rialta
