THE PROJECT OF THE CENTURY

In 1976, Cuba and the Soviet Union signed an historic accord, authorizing the construction of two nuclear reactors near Juragua, in the province of Cienfuegos. The Cubans even built nuclear-electric towns for the workers. Years later, the project long since abandoned, Otto, the grandfather; Léo, the father; and Rafael, the returned son still live in one of the plant-workers’ towns. These three generations of men provide three perspectives on a unique episode in Cuban history. One day, Otto wonders: whatever happened to the television programs made by local crews back in the day? By juxtaposing the archival footage full of life, activity and hope with new film of the three men’s daily lives — static, often purposeless little dramas softened by washed-out black and white — director Carlos Machado Quintela (The Swimming Pool) observes ghostly lives with occasionally absurdist but always surprising humour. Winner of the Hivos Tiger Awards at the most recent Rotterdam Festival, The Project of the Century dissects a utopia and a collective illusion with its idiosyncratic approach to observing the meaningful and the illusory