De Cierta Manera

A fascinating docu-romance-drama and critical ethnographic study of a new couple, Yolanda and Mario. The filmmaker assesses the complexities of intersectional, marginalised lives in 1970s Cuba through a factual narrative that contextualises the relationship, the community, and the tensions of life in a new socialist society.

This was the first Cuban feature film directed by a woman and the last directed by Sara Gómez (1942-1974), who died suddenly while De Cierta Manera was being edited. The film was completed with the technical supervision of Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Julio García Espinosa, who also co-wrote the screenplay.

De Cierta Manera was reasonably inaccessible to local audiences in Cuba upon its release due to its avant-garde nature at the time, but informal circulation through YouTube has slowly improved its access and with this access has come improved value for her work within Cuba and has resulted in vast institutional change.