Gutiérrez Alea, Tomás (1928–1996)

Cuban film director. He gained international recognition with the experimental Memorias del subdesarollo/Memories of Underdevelopment (1968), which subtly explored the impact of the revolution on Cuban society. Among later works are Muerte de un burócrata/Death of a Bureaucrat (1966), Fresa y chocolate/Strawberry and Chocolate (1993), and Guantanamera (1995). Gutiérrez Alea alternated dramatic and comic work throughout his career.

Gutiérrez Alea's first feature film, Historias de la Revolución/Stories of the Revolution, appeared in 1964. His films were often stylistically experimental, and frequently betrayed the influence of such magical realist authors as Gabriel García Márquez.

A law graduate, Alea studied film at the Centro Sperimentale in Rome, where he was influenced by the neo-realist style of film-making. In the 1950s he collaborated on two documentaries which sympathized with Castro's revolutionary movement. He went on to direct Las doce sillas/The Twelve Chairs (1962), Una pelea cubana contra los demonios/A Cuban Fight Against the Demons (1971), La última cena/The Last Supper (1976), and Hasta cierto Punto/Up to a Certain point (1984).