Santiago Álvarez
Directing
Santiago Álvarez Román (March 8, 1919 – May 20, 1998) was a Cuban documentary filmmaker and a central figure in revolutionary Latin American cinema. After studying in the United States, he returned to Cuba in the mid-1940s, where he worked as a music archivist for television and became active in Communist Party circles. Following the Cuban Revolution, he was a founding member of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC) and went on to direct its influential weekly Latin American Newsreel, shaping a new model of politically engaged documentary production. Álvarez became internationally known for short films that combined found footage, photographs, animation, and music through rapid, associative editing—often described as “nervous montage.” His best-known works include Now! (1964), addressing racial discrimination in the United States; LBJ (1968), a satirical critique of U.S. imperialism; and 79 Springs (1969), a poetic tribute to Ho Chi Minh. In 1968, he collaborated with Fernando Solanas and Octavio Getino on The Hour of the Furnaces, a landmark four-hour documentary on neocolonialism and political struggle in Latin America. Across dozens of films, Álvarez documented music, culture, revolutionary movements, and authoritarian regimes throughout the Americas and beyond. His work influenced generations of political filmmakers, and he was later acknowledged by Jean-Luc Godard in Histoire(s) du cinéma. Álvarez died in Havana in 1998 from Parkinson’s disease and was buried in Colón Cemetery.
Known for
Directing42
movieBrascuba
1987
Director
movieThe Necessary War
1980
Director
movieMy Brother, Fidel
1977
Director
movieEl octubre de todos
1977
Director
movieMaputo meridiano novo
1976
Director
movieThe First Delegate
1975
Director
movieThe New Tango
1973
Director
movieI Am a Son of America
1972
Director
Che
1972
Director
movieThe Servant's Dream
1970
Director
movie79 Springs
1969
Director
movieTake-Off at 18:00 Hours
1969
Director
movieHanoi, Tuesday 13th
1969
Director
movieLBJ
1968
Director
movieThe Forgotten War
1967
Director
movieCerro Pelado
1966
Director
movieNow!
1965
Director
movieCyclone
1964
Director
movieMuerte al invasor
1962
Director
Writing18
movieBrascuba
1987
Writer
movieThe New Tango
1973
Writer
movieThe Servant's Dream
1970
Screenplay
movie79 Springs
1969
Writer
movieThe Forgotten War
1967
Screenplay
Acting9
movieEl camino de Santiago: Periodismo, cine y revolución
2013
Santiago Alvarez
movieMemória Cubana
2010
Self (archive footage)
movieRocha Que Voa
2002
Self (voice)
movieCoarse Salt
1984
Horacio
Production3
movieCarnival
1960
Production Manager
movieEl Tomate
1959
Producer
Crew1
Editing1
Sound1
movieÉter
2019
Sound