PROMOTING the cinema of social critique that Cuba is famous for, Fatima of Fraternity Park was a suitably challenging opening to the Havana Glasgow Film Festival (HGFF). Jorge Perugorria’s film, depicting the life of a transvestite male prostitute, typifies changing social attitudes on the island.

In cinema, it was spearheaded by director Tomas Alea, who also headed the Cuban Film Institute, and HGFF is celebrating his work along with that of Perugorria. The institute was founded in the immediate aftermath of the revolution to educate a largely illiterate population and is still going strong.

Looking at the issue of LGBT+ rights is a fascinating way to monitor evolving social attitudes since the revolution and the role of Cuban film in the ongoing dialectic. A landmark film is Alea’s Strawberries and Chocolate, from 1994, which lightheartedly equates sexuality to different flavours of ice cream.