My Movie: Portrait of Teresa + Q&A

A crisis between husband and wife in a working class marriage is the focus for a dramatic examination of the changes generated by the Revolution as many more women entered the workforce. This film sparked a widespread debate throughout Cuban society. The Family Code (1975) had declared household chores and childcare should be shared equally. The film depicts Teresa’s exhausting double shift and when she takes on extra duties as a factory union delegate, her husband berates her for neglecting her family. Yet she persists in her quest for control over her life.

Today an unmissable classic, at the time a very controversial film, it showed the Revolution was an ongoing struggle against entrenched attitudes for everyone. It also marked a turning point in filmmaking, shifting away from the fast moving close-ups of the 1960s to more documentary-style shots.

Please bear in mind that the age and rarity of this film means that the quality may not be what you are used to, however this is the last remaining version and a rare opportunity to see a hugely important and influential Cuban film of the 1970s.

Thanks to Screen Cuba Film Festival screencuba.uk