Nuestro Cine: It Happened "Una Noche"

A few days ago we looked at “Searching for Sugar Man” a documentary that will be screened this weekend as part of the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. We briefly mentioned how plenty of media attention had been paid to the disappearance and possible defection of two Cuban actors who starred in another film featured at Tribeca: “Una Noche” (“One Night”).

The whereabouts of Javier Nuñez Florian and Anailin de la Rua de la Torre continue to be unknown after they were reportedly last seen at Miami International Airport on April 18th.

Despite the absence of two of the film’s protagonists, “Una Noche” received one of the film festival’s top prizes this week when best actor awards where given to Nuñez Florian and co-star Dariel Arrechada.

Arrechada, who was present at the premiere and the awards ceremony, was seemingly disappointed that he couldn't share the honors with his co-stars:

"I'm sad for them because they are my friends," Arrechada told Reuters in broken English and Spanish after his win, referring to his missing fellow actors.

"I wish they were here, but . . . you could be happy for them, for Javier and for Anailin and for everyone. It's weird. I miss him."

The below video contains a very brief excerpt from “Una Noche”, a film that examines three young Cubans who decide to flee and attempt to migrate to Florida. The excerpt leads into a very insightful interview with “Una Noche” director Lucy Mulloy. She describes the challenges of shooting in Cuba and praises the “hunger for creativity (and) exploration” by young artists on the island:

Video Source – YouTube via Upstart Company

Online Sources – The Latin Americanist, Reuters, Los Angeles Times