2 months after KIFF, Cuban director keeps date with Kol, hopes for tie-ups

KOLKATA: Visa issues had prevented Cuban director David Bim from attending the 31st Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF), where his documentary, ‘To the West, in Zapatta', won the Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award for Best Film in the International Competition (Innovation in Moving Images). Bim could finally come to Kolkata last week, when he received the top award for his film, portraying the intimate life of a family during the pandemic, which also received the FIPRESCI award in the same category.

Describing Kolkata as "alive", Bim said this first visit here deepened his understanding of the strong cultural affinity between Cuba and Kolkata. "The warmth felt familiar. Kolkata's streets are perpetually in motion, rich with small, telling details. I am particularly attuned to this sense of movement as, for me, cinema is the art of time. While I would need more time to imagine making a film here, my visit made me eager to do so," he told TOI.


Bim received the award from Pradip Sarkar, joint director of information and festival coordinator of KIFF, and Suprina Blon, additional director of films, on Dec 27. "My visa arrived a day before the festival was due to end. I was disappointed as I could not attend KIFF. But I am pleased to travel now," he told TOI.

For Bim, who kept Satyajit Ray's Apu trilogy as a constant companion during filming, another significant moment was receiving the award at Nandan with Ray's photo in the background. He expressed his wish to visit Ray's residence.

Thanking the state for taking what he described as an "important step" of organising a festival, like KIFF, he said, "That is why I am here. I hope this marks the beginning of a meaningful exchange. I am going to SRFTI on Monday to conduct a master class and for my film's screening. I am carrying a hard drive, in the hope of taking back copies of both cult and contemporary films made in Kolkata, to share with his students in Cuba and to explore student collaborations between the two countries.”

He further remarked that Kolkata has a rich history while remaining firmly rooted in the present. "That is invaluable. If I was a politician, I would allocate my entire budget to support young filmmakers from the city,” he said.

Bim's Kolkata trip, curated by his Arijona-based friend Uttam Mukhopadhyay and Uttam's Sydney-based sister Sutopa Parrab, did not follow the popular tourist destinations. "He is more interested in seeing the city’s underbelly. Besides going to Kumartuli, sweet shops and food joints, we visited Santiniketan," Uttam said.

The most unlikely destination was the street outside the Nimtala crematorium. But the most unlikely destination was the street outside the Nimtala crematorium. “I believe cinema belongs to ordinary people. It is important for me to be in real places. Nothing is more real than standing in front of a crematorium. You see life in its rawest form when people confront death,” he said.

After his SRFTI visit, Bim will fly to New York City, where he was nominated in the Spotlight category at the 2026 Cinema Eye Honors. The award recognizes the year’s most outstanding non-fiction work, celebrating exceptional storytelling and craft in documentary filmmaking.