Curtis Hanson and Robert Kraft
in Havana

• TWO famous Hollywood figures have arrived in Havana. One, Robert Kraft, is an American songwriter and the other, Curtis Hanson, is an American filmmaker. They both have their own private interests in coming to Cuba.

Hanson, director of L.A Confidential (1997), went immediately to the heart of the issue, stating, "I think that all barriers that prevent people from communicating are bad. I am an optimist and I think that things have to change."

The director of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992), The River Wild (1994), and 8 Mile (2002) took part in an encounter with young Cubans in the Pabellón Cuba, during which he stated that if he had a story, he would make a film in Cuba.

Invited to the 31st Festival of New Latin American Cinema, Hanson traveled to Havana with a copy of L.A Confidential, screened for the first time in Cuban theaters. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Film, which it lost to Titanic, but Kim Bassinger won the award for Best Actress for her role in the film.

Hanson said he valued Latin American cinema, referring to directors like Brazilian Walter Salles and Mexicans Alejandro González Iñárritu and Alfonso Cuarón. "I have discovered that, in some way, we all make films for the same reason. We want to tell stories."

For his part, Robert Kraft, president of Fox Music Inc., gave a master lecture on music and film as part of the Industry Sector section at Hotel Nacional.

Using scenes from feature films such as Ice Age, Little Miss Sunshine, I Robot, Night at the Museum, and Baz Lurhman’s blockbuster Moulin Rouge starring Nicole Kidman, his interesting speech illustrated how a film’s soundtrack can become its backbone.

Kraft, who has worked on more than 300 films and has won an Oscar for the 1989 film Under the Sea, stated that he loves Cuban music and that its is interesting to see how "music flows like water in Cuba. Being here is not a matter of business but of feeling."