Under the direction of Rolando Almirante, Ángel Alderete and sports journalist Héctor Villar, the work constitutes a human approach, beyond his feats on the mats, to the first athlete to win five gold medals in the same individual discipline in consecutive Olympic Games.
At a press conference at the headquarters of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (Icaic), Almirante explained that he had never produced sports material with this depth and scope and that the documentary posed questions, strategies and paths to him all the time; it was a discovery as a filmmaker.
There is a journey into the human depth, of this family, Mijaín's, who opened their doors to us, and the athlete himself, who at first kept his distance but then gradually opened his heart to us.
The cinematographic proposal from Icaic and the production company D'Alma Films covers in one hour and twenty minutes, different moments in the life of the athlete from Herradura, a town in the western province of Pinar del Río.
With a non-chronological narrative, it combines intimate testimonies from family members, such as his mother Leonor Núñez, coaches and his "sporting rival", with images of his training and recognition in other countries.
It also shows the reactions of the public, family and friends, recorded simultaneously in Herradura, Ciénaga de Zapata and the Yara cinema, during the real-time broadcast of his last match at the Paris 2024 Games.
It is not just a sports documentary, it is also a very intimate documentary that somewhat demystifies the figure of Mijaín López, who for us is an idol and who after achieving this fifth medal would become a Hero of the Republic of Cuba, Villar emphasized.
As part of the official programming of the IX Summer Film Festival, the special presentation will take place on August 2 at 7:00 pm, local time, at the centrally located Yara cinema.
