''Things I Left in Havana'' () is a 1997 Spanish film directed by

Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón (born 2 January 1940) is a Spanish screenwriter and film director. His 1973 film '' Habla, mudita'' was entered into the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival. In 1977, he won the Silver Bear for Best Director for '' ...

and co-written by Senel Paz. It stars Violeta Rodríguez,

Jorge Perugorría Jorge Perugorría Rodríguez (aka "Pichi," born 13 August 1965) is a Cuban actor, film director and painter. He is well known for his part as Diego in '' Strawberry and Chocolate'' (original title in Spanish ''Fresa y chocolate'' (co-directed ...

and

Kiti Mánver María Isabel Ana Mantecón Vernalte (born 11 May 1953), better known as Kiti Mánver, is a Spanish actress. She has appeared in more than 100 films and television shows since 1970. Biography María Isabel Ana Mantecón Vernalte was born in ...

Plot

Three sisters from

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

(Nena, Ludmila and Rosa) move to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, temporarily staying with their aunt María, who exploits them for labour, also intending for them to assimilate to Spanish culture. Nena, an actress wannabe, falls romantically for Igor, a Cuban scoundrel with a heart of gold.

Cast

Production

The screenplay was penned by

and Senel Paz. Produced by Gerardo Herrero, the film is a Sogetel and Tornasol Films production, with the participation of

Canal+ Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

and the collaboration of Sogepac. The film had a budget of slightly over 200 million ₧.

Release

''Things I Left in Havana'' screened at the 42nd

Valladolid International Film Festival The Valladolid International Film Festival, popularly known as Seminci (short for ; ), is a film festival held annually in Valladolid, Spain. First held in 1956 as ('Valladolid Religious Film Week'), the Seminci is one of the longest-standing fi ...

in October 1997. The film was theatrically released in Spain on 16 January 1998.

Accolades

, - , align = "center" , 1997 , , 42nd

, , colspan = "2" , Silver Spike , , , , , - , align = "center" rowspan = "2" , 1998 , , 13th Goya Awards , , Best New Actress , , Violeta Rodríguez , , , , , - , 45th Ondas Awards , , Best Film Director , , Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón , , , ,

References