The 25th “Reel” Latin American Film Festival
F R E E A D M I S S I O N | P U B L I C
W E L C O M E
The Companion
(El acompañante )Director: Pavel Giroud, Cuba, 2016
Length: 104 minutes
Language: Spanish with English Subtitles
Rating: NR. Includes strong language and some violence
Pragda's info on the film: https://pragda.com/film/the-companion/
Showtimes and Locations
- Sunday, October 21, 12:30 p.m.
Speed Art Museum's Speed Cinema - Introduction: Dr. Thomas Edison, Department of Classical and Modern Languages
- Introduction: Dr. Avery Kolers, Department of Philosophy
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Storyline
Set in 1988 Cuba as the government dispatched HIV patients to AIDS centers under military rule, The Companion narrates the unlikely friendship between a boxing champion and a conflictive patient.
After failing a doping test, Horacio Romero has no other choice but to serve a sentence. His fate is in Los Cocos, a sanatorium under military rule where HIV patients are compulsorily confined, with the exception of a weekly pass to visit their families under the supervision of personal wardens called “companions.”
As a “companion,” Horacio is supposed to keep an eye on Daniel -the most conflictive patient in the ward- and get him to comply to the regulations. Their interests immediately collide as Daniel is set to spend his last days in freedom and is ready to do anything to make this happen.
Horacio, on the other hand, dreams about boxing again to get his champion’s status back. For that to happen, however, he must first win this battle out of the ring…
Synopsis from From Pragda, Spanish Film Club promotional site.
Presented in collaboration with the Speed Art Museum's Speed Cinema and
as part of The Spanish Film Club series with the support Pragda, and the Embassy of Spain in Washington DC, Spain-USA Foundation. Special thanks to the Secretary of State for Culture of Spain.
Floyd Theater