Black song
A maroon, seated in the tranquility of the palenque, enjoying his privilege as a black revered by his people, recalls the moment of his flight. The scene of the chase of the mayoral with the dogs is presented, how they catch up with him, corner him and attack him. The providential help of the Orishas, protective gods of the African people, protect, bless and free them from their shackles. The maroon has to decide between facing or continuing to flee from his oppressor.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Adrian Vega
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
It was commissioned by the artist Lando Lavarra who wanted me to give an image to one of his songs. Then I heard the song and a series of images mysteriously emerged, which defined the passion with which I made this material.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
As a Cuban who has never known freedom, as a human being who yearns for freedom, I imagine collectively speaking on a world scale, this is one of our main aspirations, of our human yearnings, and I believe that the desire to be free itself is capable of capturing the attention of any audience that covets it or wants to keep it.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I think in the previous question I had answered part of this. But putting them in context, I live in a country where freedom of expression, freedom of thought, and entrepreneurship have been kidnapped for 64 years. Personally, I can imagine living in a free country but I can't speak for sure, that part was left to the viewers who live in freedom. The Mayoral is an allegory to a government or a dictatorial state, the cimarrón represents the end of submission, the end of slavery, and the end of silence.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I have always believed that the scripts mark the central idea of a project to be executed. The very term script reaffirms it, that is, thanks to it I can guide my creativity. But the moment the work becomes aware (and this is in my case) the script goes into the background and is sometimes guided by it. Perhaps this is due to my lack of academic studies and my more intimate contact with the creative feeling.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The work has been recognized in several international festivals, despite the fact that in my own country, it has not been given any type of recognition, but it is thanks to these awards and selections that my work has traveled the world and has generated new clients for me. which use it as a reference for new projects of my creation.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Within my club of friends, almost all artists with opposing points of view, I have been graced with their acceptance. Because I confess that I am the only one who does this kind of work. My surprise and challenge are visible in each completed work.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Mainly that my speech is heard, that despite living in a country that represses and limits the independent artist, the will and the imagination are imposed when materializing an artistic work. You may not believe that this work was done with a very old laptop, between multiple blackouts and by a single person. Perhaps the fact of living among so many limitations activates our creativity to the maximum.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Doors are open to anyone who is interested, the work itself is a cry for freedom, and from this confinement that independent creators live in Cuba, we will not be able to give it all the paths and scope it deserves.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Perhaps a social impact, there was a time when kings and big businessmen conquered the Americas, Africa, enslaved entire civilizations, subjected them to forced labor, permanent confinement and food rations. Today in the world, believe it or not, the big transnationals enslave us by making us work and consume their own products, enclosing our attention in their advertisements, creating trends, fashions, diets and idols that respond to their interests, in a certain way and unconsciously we continue to enslaved, freedom is the way.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Is your freedom worth fighting for?
Would you like to add anything else?
Just thank you for the opportunity to present my point of view on your platform.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I have two project proposals that cannot be carried out from my country due to the restricted Internet and lack of resources. One is a series that deals with African patakíes, which if successful will be carried out with maestro Sergio Limuti, an Italian musician and producer, and the other I cannot offer details.
Interview: May 2023
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Black song
A maroon, seated in the tranquility of the palenque, enjoying his privilege as a black revered by his people, recalls the moment of his flight. The scene of the chase of the mayoral with the dogs is presented, how they catch up with him, corner him and attack him. The providential help of the Orishas, protective gods of the African people, protect, bless and free them from their shackles. The maroon has to decide between facing or continuing to flee from his oppressor.
Length: 2:56
Director: Adrian Vega D'Mente
Producer: Adrian Vega D'Mente
Writer: Adrian Vega D'Mente
About the writer, director and producer:
ADRIAN VEGA SANCHEZ, artistically known as Adrian Vega D'Mente, began his career as a rapper at the end of 2000, after several participations in galas and clubs, he decided to form the rap group Tentación with which he obtained several recognitions, mentions and the first prize at a festival of amateur artists. After the need to manifest his creative work in different artistic manifestations such as literature, graphic design, audiovisual production and music, he decides to go solo with the D'Mente project, with which he begins a new multifaceted career in which he obtains various awards and recognitions. His work has shown great passion and interest in the media, not only nationally. In 2011, the rapper D'Mente made himself known when a stanza talking about his good performance in rap appeared in the Finnish magazine Cuba si, after participating in a project by the instructor Lotta Lindblom (Finland). In that same year, Puños Arriba magazine published a brief review of his album H.H.R along with other Cuban rap artists. Of his literary work, the stories La luz have been published by the cultural magazine Quehacer of the province of Las Tunas, and Tatica, by Editorial Primigenios, Miami, USA. He worked as a music producer and graphic designer on all his albums, in collaboration with other phonograms, on the graphics and posters of the national festival Urban Potage editions 2, 3 and 4 held in Colón, Matanzas 2016-2017; in the festival for young people and adolescents Creciendo en el Hip Hop of the Cuban Rap Agency 2017 in Havana, and in the International Symposium of Cuban Hip Hop. He obtained consecutive Cubadisco nominations in the years 2017, 2018 and 2019 for the phonograms D'Mente Universal, Manos a la Obra and Heridas Sonoras. In addition, to the Lucas Awards in the 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 editions with animation video clips completely of his own making, in the Hip Hop and Animation categories. On the international stage, his work as an audiovisual producer has also been recognized in animation competitions. Here is a selection. He won the Best Story Award at the Entre Largos y Cortos de Oriente Film Festival based in Venezuela for the video clip Catarsis in 2021. Likewise, in the last two years (2021-2022) he was nominated in the: Official selection in the Eighth Sample The Image of Memory (Colombia 2021); International Short Film Contest City of Soria (Spain 2021); VIII International Short Film Festival Drets Humans i… Acció! (Spain 2021); The Cry of the Voiceless (Spain 2021); Notodo Film Fest (Spain 2021); XXII Short Film Contest of Salas de los Infantes (Spain 2021); FIC Rio (Brazil 2022); Indomitable Eye Festival (Chile 2022); The Illusion Eye (Venezuela 2022) and Radio City Festival (Spain 2022).
Key cast: Adrian Vega (director), Lando Lavarra (cantante)
Facebook: Adrian Vega D'Mente
Instagram: @adrianvegadmente
Hashtags used: #changotrap #adrianvegadmente