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Yahoo!
Thu Oct 31, 2:54 PM ET
HAVANA - American director Steven Spielberg will travel to Cuba next week
for a festival showing eight of his films, including "E.T.," "Raiders
of the Lost Ark" and "Jaws" to audiences across the island.
The Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Arts and Industry invited Spielberg
here, where he will meet with Cuban filmmakers and visit the International
School of Film and Television, which trains students from around the world in
the moviemaking arts, said a statement from Martin Levy, the director's
spokesman in Los Angeles.
Other events on his schedule include a visit to Havana's main synagogue to
meet the Jewish community, and a reception with U.S. diplomats and their
families stationed in Havana, the statement said. It didn't provide specifics
about when Spielberg would arrive nor how long he would stay.
Spielberg will launch the festival by attending the Cuban premiere of his
most recent film, "Minority Report." Other films to be presented
during the festival at four Havana theaters and in other locations across the
island are "Schindler's List," "Saving Private Ryan," "Empire
of the Sun" and "Duel."
"We look forward to sharing film-making experiences with him, and
showing him the great love that people in Cuba have of cinema," said Omar
Gonzalez, president of the Cuban film institute.
"(Spielberg) has always said that film is a universal creative medium
that can reach out to people across national boundaries and cultures," Levy
said in the release. "He is eager to meet with the film making community
and the Cuban public."
Accompanying Spielberg on the trip will be his wife, actress Kate Capshaw;
Academy Award winning cinematographer and Spielberg collaborator Janusz
Kaminski; and television director Jake Paltrow.
Organizers say the trip has been authorized by the U.S. government under a
license for noncommercial film-related cultural exchange and exhibition
activities.
Under a four-decade-old U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, most Americans must
obtain a special license to spend money on the communist-run island.
Related links
The
Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Arts and Industry
International School of Film
and Television
The
Virtual Jewish History Tour - Cuba / Jewish Virtual Library
Why do
Jewish organizations ignore Cuba’s hatred of Israel? / Myles Kantor | 
