Tomás Gutiérrez Alea
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea (1928–1996) was a Cuban director and screenwriter, the most internationally celebrated figure of post-revolution Cuban cinema. After law studies in Havana and film studies at the Centro Sperimentale in Rome, he was one of the founders of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry following the 1959 revolution. His work — committed to the revolutionary project but unsparing in its critique of bureaucracy, hypocrisy, and persisting prejudice — defined Cuban cinema for international audiences. His acclaimed films include Death of a Bureaucrat, Memories of Underdevelopment, A Cuban Fight Against Demons, The Last Supper, Up to a Certain Point, and Strawberry and Chocolate.