NCLAFF: Chico & Rita & Semper Fidel

In Spanish and English, with English subtitles. (2012, dir. Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal & Tono Errando, Cuba/Spain/UK/Argentina, 94 min.) Chico is a dashing piano player and Rita is an enchanting and beautiful Havana nightclub singer. When they meet, the sparks fly and they fall madly in love. In Chico & Rita, Trueba and Mariscal pay tribute to a vibrant and colorful time in the history of both Cuba and jazz, an epic romance unfolds as the pair travels the glamorous stages of 1940s and1950s Havana, New York City, Las Vegas, Hollywood, and Paris. To accompany them is an amazing soundtrack featuring the music of jazz legends Thelonious Monk, Cole Porter, Dizzy Gillespie and Freddy Cole (brother of Nat King Cole), performed by a range of contemporary singers including Idania Valdés, Carlos Sarduy, Horacio Hernández, Rolando Luna, Germán Velazco and Jorge Reyes. In addition, the story of Chano Pozo, one of the first Latin percussionists to grace a major American jazz band, is fluidly interwoven within the narrative. Semper Fidel. Robert Pietri / Cuba, USA / 2014 / 90 min. English and Spanish with English subtitles. Spinning a classic, multifaceted story against an uncommon backdrop, Semper Fidel tells the tale of a U.S. Marine who investigates the life of his father, a Cuban sports star. Featuring the astonishing Havana City, the film creates a city-landscape that propels this character-driven drama forward, highlighting the conflict of place and identity.