The International Short Film Festival Oberhausen presents re-selected #1: CICLÓN vs. HURRIKAN – Two prints compared
CICLÓN (Cyclone), Santiago Álvarez, Cuba 1963, 35mm, without dialog, 22 min
Thanks to Swedish Film Institute
HURRIKAN, Santiago Álvarez, Dr. Günther Ketzer (Responsible for the re-edit), Cuba/FRG 1973, 16mm, GV, 12 min
Guests: Peter Hoffmann, Tobias Hering
Sep 7, 2021 14:30 Arsenal Cinema, free admission

In October 1963, Cuba was hit by tornado Flora, one of the most destructive natural disasters that ever occurred on the island. Camera operators of the Cuban newsreel Noticiero filmed the devastation as well as the rescue and first-aid campaigns in which revolutionary Cuba, under Fidel Castro‘s leadership, demonstrated its spirit of solidarity. Santiago Álvarez, head of the Noticiero, edited from this footage the 22-minute film CICLÓN, which received broad international recognition and was awarded the Golden Dove at the 1964 Leipzig festival. At the Oberhausen Short Film Festival it was shown in 1965, and again in 1970 within a retrospective entitled “10 Years of Film in Cuba.” This is likely where it caught the attention of the Munich-based “Institute for Film and Images in Science and Education” (FWU), which bought the film, shortened it, and distributed it under the German title HURRIKAN for use in geography classes. A comparative screening of two prints, introduced by Peter Hoffmann (filmmaker and curator)  and Tobias Hering (curator re-selected).