Six Cuban Films Make Platino Awards Preselection for 13th Edition

The Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC) announced that six Cuban productions were included in the pre‑selection for the 13th Platino Xcaret Awards, with two titles explicitly named in press reports: Calle 232, directed by Rudy Mora, and Baracoa. The announcement, datelined Havana, Feb 8, cited the two films among those shortlisted for the thirteenth edition of the

The limited public details leave room for confirmation. ICAIC identified six Cuban entries but has not published the complete list in the excerpts available to reporters, so the other four Cuban titles and the specific Platino categories for each remain to be confirmed. The likely full title Baracoa reconciles an original fragmentary reference that appeared as “Bar,” suggesting a truncation in earlier text.

Cuban technicians already feature in Platino coverage. Angie Hernández is listed as a Platino nominee for the film A Night with the Rolling Stones, a production directed by Patricia Ramos. Hernández is a graduate of the Faculty of Audiovisual Media Arts (Famca) and the International School of Film and Television in San Antonio de los Baños, and her credits include collaborations with Patricia Ramos on El techo (2016), I Love Lotus (2018) and El aniversario (2022). Her documentary sound credits include Tren de la Línea Norte (2013) by Marcelo Martín, La música de las esferas (2018) by Marcel Beltrán and Órgano (2019) by Rosa María Rodríguez. Hernández won an award in her specialty at the Ceará Film Festival (Brazil) for La mujer salvaje (2023) by Alan González and is credited on the still‑unreleased Estrés by Marilyn Solaya. The sound of the Cuban film is noted as competing alongside Spain’s La infiltrada and Segundo premio and Argentina’s El Jockey.

Ulises Hernández is also named among Cuban nominees, credited for the Cuban‑Costa Rican co‑production La invención de las especias, directed by Tania Hermida. The broader Platino field cited in coverage includes directors Arantxa Echevarría (La infiltrada), Luis Ortega (El Jockey), Walter Salles (Todavía estoy aquí) and Pedro Almodóvar (La habitación de al lado), underscoring the competition’s regional reach.

The Platino Awards have grown into a central showcase for Ibero‑American film. “Since its first edition in 2014, the Platino Awards have established themselves as a benchmark in the Ibero‑American film industry, bringing together the most prominent figures in film and television from Spanish and Portuguese‑speaking countries. Its objective is to increase the visibility and international recognition of the region’s projects, as well as to encourage the production and quality of the works, according to the review published by Cubacine Icaic.”

Historical records of the Platino run the gamut from Wild Tales (8 wins) and Embrace of the Serpent (7 wins) to Pain and Glory and Society of the Snow (6 wins each), with other multiple‑win titles including A Fantastic Woman, Roma, Forgotten We'll Be and Argentina, 1985 (5 wins), and A Monster Calls, The Good Boss, The Beasts and 20,000 Species of Bees (4 wins).

For Cuba, the pre‑selection signals visibility on a platform that prizes Ibero‑American storytelling and technical craft. Next steps are straightforward: obtain the full ICAIC press release and the official Platino pre‑selection list to confirm the six titles, the specific categories, and final nominee announcements. Those confirmations will clarify the scale of Cuba’s presence at the 13th Platino Xcaret Awards and the opportunities ahead for Cuban filmmakers and technicians on the regional stage.