Ibarra, Mirta

Strawberry & Chocolate

This charming Cuban film details the unusual relationship between the flamboyant, educated Diego (Jorge Perugorría) and the young, homophobic, pro-Revolution David (Vladimir Cruz). Miserable at being dumped by his girlfriend, David at first spurns the attentions of Diego; however, at the prompting of his Communist roommate, Miguel (Francisco Gattorno), he cultivates an acquaintanceship with Diego in order to investigate his liberal leanings. Of course, Diego's cultured ways prove fascinating to the younger man and a true friendship grows. Add the slightly crazy neighbor Nancy (Mirta Ibarra), who frequently attempts suicide, as romantic fodder for David, and this playful drama becomes a heartwarming film. Disputed in its own country, this film was the first Cuban picture to be nominated for best foreign picture at the Academy Awards. --Jenny Brown

Robert Redford and Miramax Films proudly present STRAWBERRY & CHOCOLATE, the irresistible comedy treat that's received outstanding critical acclaim! Meet David -- a naive young college kid who's out on his own for the very first time. With the help of two extraordinary new friends, David soon learns everything there is to know about the things that aren't taught in school! Diego is the writer who teaches him about the passion of life ... and Nancy is the woman who teaches him about the passion of love! Nominated for the Academy Award(R) as Best Foreign Language Film in 1994, STRAWBERRY & CHOCOLATE is a deliciously fun-filled celebration of life at its entertaining best!

Guantanamera

I Will Survive

The man in your life is not always the man of your dreams! In this romantic comedy, Marga is at a dead endàpregnant, unemployed and with a recently deceased boyfriend. Everything changes when her best friend agrees to take care of her son and she purchases a video store. The only thing missing is a man. Enter Inaqui û young, handsome, and possibly gay! Can true love overcome such obstacles? I Will Survive (Sobreviviré) answers this question in a funny, touching way. Stars Emma Suarez, Juan Diego Botto, Mirta Ibarra and Rosana Pastor.

Ilona Arrives with the Rain

A beautiful woman and her long lost lover reunite for one last caper. In steamy, cosmopolitan Panama City, tough-guy smuggler Maqroll stumbles across Ilona, his long lost love and cohort. They haven't seen each other for years. They begin a new scheme, in search of impossible wealth.

Mararia

Cuarteto de La Habana

Spain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. Languages: o English (subtitles) o Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0) Synopsis: Walter, an aspiring musician from Madrid, has a lot of troubles. After finding a videotape, he learns something which will alter his whole life, and put his Madrid problems on hold. In the tape, a Cuban woman confesses to being his mother. She is waiting for him in Havana. Walter goes to Havana to see his mother. There, the plot thickens with the addition of the mother's daughter, and a Spanish airline crew member, who round out the quartet. - A wealth of romantic and familial complications face a musician en route to Cuba in the comedy Cuarteto de la Habana. Walther (Ernesto Alterio) is a Spanish jazz musician who gets word from a woman in Havana named Lita (Mirtha Ibarra) that she is his mother, whom he hasn't seen since he was a baby. Walther, excited by the prospect of a family reunion, catches a flight to Cuba, where he meets Segis (Javier Camara), a man who is soon to marry Diana (Laura Ramos). When Walther meets Diana, it's love at first sight, but it turns out there's a hitch -- Diana is Lita's daughter, and though her father was not Walther's father, being half-siblings is still enough to throw a serious spanner into the works. Director Fernando Colomo previously received acclaim for his film The Butterfly Effect. Special Features: o Filmographies o Interactive Menu o Scene Access o Trailer(s)

Sagitario

Spain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. Languages: o English (subtitles) o Spanish (Dolby Surround) Synopsis: A woman finds herself going from having no man in her life to having more suitors than she can handle in this offbeat romantic drama. Rosa (Angela Molina) is an artist in her early forties who is recently divorced and looking for a new relationship. Unfortunately, few immediate prospects are on the horizon, and Rosa spends much of her free time commiserating with her close friend Jaime (Eusebio Poncela), a gay actor her own age. After consulting Andronica (Julieta Serrano), a fortune teller, Rosa is told that relationships with three different men are on the horizon for her, and soon she finds herself falling for Gustavo (Daniel Freire), an architect from Argentina. While in Spain, Gustavo is staying at a hotel run by Greta (Mirtha Ibarra), who is the unwitting center of a web of romantic entanglements; her daughter, Ana (Maria Isasi), is involved with Juan (Enrique Alcides), a delivery boy for a pizza parlor who also has his eye on Rosa, while Greta's ex-husband (Bob Wilson) is also hoping to win Rosa's heart, in his case through poetry. Sagitario was the first feature film from Vicente Molina Foix, a noted novelist and film critic in his native Spain. Special Features: o Deleted Scenes o Film Credits o Filmographies o Interactive Menu o Making Of o Scene Access o Trailer(s)

Guantanamera

Spain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. Languages: o English (subtitles) o Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0) Synopsis: In this satiric road movie from Cuba, Yoyita (Conchita Brando), a well-known singer living in Havana, travels with her niece Georgina (Mirita Ibarra), a college professor, to the village of her birth, where Yoyita is reunited with Candido (Raul Eguren), whom she loved as a young woman. When Yoyita and Candido meet for the first time in 50 years, they're thrilled to discover that the flame of passion still burns within them; unfortunately, Yoyita is so thrilled that it gives her a heart attack, and she dies on the spot. Yoyita's body must be transported back to Havana for burial, but while logic would dictate that Georgina should simply hire a hearse to make the journey, her husband Adolfo (Carlos Cruz), a bureaucrat with more enthusiasm than common sense, has another idea -- by transferring the body from one vehicle to another at the border of each province, the cost of fuel will be distributed more evenly along the route. No one much cares for this idea except Adolfo, but he has the law on his side, so Georgina, Candido, and Adolfo begin a long, slow journey back to Havana accompanied by truck drivers Ramon (Pedro Fernandez) and Mariano (Jorge Perugorria), who was Georgina's student years ago. At every stop, the group meets a few of the people in each town (especially Mariano, who seems to have a girlfriend in every village in Cuba) and share their thoughts on faith, politics, and love. Guantanamera was the final work from veteran Cuban director Tomas Gutierrez Alea; he died before the film could be completed, so co-screenwriter Juan Carlos Tabio finished the film in his stead. Special Features: o Filmographies o Interactive Menu o Making Of o Scene Access o Trailer(s)