[citation needed] After being popularised by the brothers Louis Jean and Auguste Marie Lumière, the cinematographe traveled through several capital cities in different American countries before arriving in Havana, which occurred on January 24, 1897.

Short after, Veyre performed a leading role in the first film produced in the island, Simulacro de incendio, a documentary centered around firemen in Havana.

The first in a long list of movie theatres in Havana was set by José A. Casasús, actor, producer and entrepreneur, under the name of "Floradora", later renamed "Alaska".

In Cuba films like El Capitán Mambí and Libertadores o guerrilleros (1914), by Enríque Díaz Quesada with support from Gen. Mario García Menocal are worth mentioning.

In the first days of 1959, the new government created a cinematographic department within the Dirección de Cultura del Ejército Rebelde (Culture Division of the Rebel Army), which sponsored the production of documentaries such as Esta tierra nuestra by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, and La vivienda by Julio García Espinosa.

This was the direct ancestor of what would eventually become the Instituto Cubano del Arte y la Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC), which was founded in March as a result of the first culture law of the revolutionary government.

Film, according to this law, is "the most powerful and provocative form of artistic expression, and the most direct and widespread vehicle for education and bringing ideas to the public.

The ICAIC also established mobile projection units called cine moviles, trucks that visited remote areas to hold screenings.

[7] The first ten years of the institution were called by critics the Golden Age (Década de Oro) of Cuban cinema, most of all because of the making of Lucía (1969) by Humberto Solás and Memorias del subdesarrollo (Memories of Underdevelopment) (1968) by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea.

In 1974, Juan Padrón gave birth to Elpidio Valdés, a character that represents a mambí fighter, struggling for Cuban independence against the Spanish occupation in the 19th century.

The contribution of the ICAIC, which was rapidly positioned as the head of a process aiming for legitimate artistic values and expression of nationality, is not limited only to the support in producing and promoting a movement that spanned fiction, documentary and animation, but also allowed for the exhibition and spread of popular knowledge of the best of cinema from all over the world.

It also created the film archives of the Cinemateca de Cuba, and took part in initiatives such as Cinemóviles, which made cinema available on the most intricate sites of the national geography.

It gave birth between 1969 and 1977, to the Grupo de Experimentación Sonora, which influenced Cuban music to a great extent, serving as a starting point for the movement of the Nueva Trova.

This, coupled with the fact that many other directors and the general public did not agree with Solás's interpretation of the film, led to the removal of Alfredo Guevara from his position.

Espinosa was able to increase the recognition of Cuban film and especially of the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema by obtaining greater funds from the government and also inviting big names such as Francis Ford Coppola, Sydney Pollack, Robert De Niro, and Jack Lemmon to the island.

Due to the loss of Cuba's largest trading partner, the Soviet Union, the future of the island country became uncertain, and criticism of the government, which the ICAIC was known for, became unpopular.

Among those are talented directors, technicians and actors who settled in the US, Latin America or Europe, in search of work and creative space in the field of cinema.

It also highlights generational conflicts between Cuban-born parents and their teenage children who have been raised in the U.S. and reject tradition in favor of the North American way of life.

The screenplay, written by Ichaso and Orestes Matacena shows the disillusionment of a young Communist and his girlfriend, who are pushed to the breaking point by a repressive society.

The reactionary stance of directors like Villa, Ulla, Ichaso, Almendros and Jiménez Leal has made them the cinematic spokespersons for Cubans who believe that Fidel Castro is personally responsible for negative changes that have occurred in Cuba since 1959.

Although it is a low-budget film, it does an effective job of capturing the problems of the younger generation of Cuban-Americans who are torn between the desire to fit in and the pressure to uphold tradition.

[9] Cercanía (2008) by Rolando Díaz, the brother of Jesús, shows a recent arrival from Cuba attempting to reconcile with his family in Miami after decades apart.

Honey for Oshún (2001) by Humberto Solás, a Cuban director who remained in Cuba, addresses the clash between Cuban-Americans returning to the island and those who never left.

Among them are César Évora, Anabel Leal, Reinaldo Cruz, Francisco Gattorno, Reynaldo Miravalles, Tomás Millán, William Marquez, Orestes Matacena and Isabel Moreno.

Cuban American actors who were born in Cuba but grew up in the U.S. include Andy García, Steven Bauer, William Levy, and Tony Plana.

Two examples of Cuban co-produced films are Humberto Solás's Cecilia (Cuba/Spain) and Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío's Academy Award-nominated Strawberry and Chocolate (Cuba/Mexico/Spain).

One example is Chilean director Miguel Littín's Academy Award-nominated Alsino and the Condor, which was shot in Nicaragua and received technical support from Cuba.

The main objectives of Cuban cinema were production, distribution, and screening films that recorded the ongoing revolutionary process from the perspectives of ordinary people.

It can be acknowledged that Imperfect Cinema was creative, innovative and possessed a distinctive style that is typically a very thought provoking original work of art, Oscar Quirós concluded.

The impact of the economic crisis hit the Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográfico (ICAIC) directly, leading to an exodus of personnel and the slowing down of production to the extent that, in 1996, the Institute did not release a single feature film.