Vampires in Havana

press release:Cuba | 1985 | 35mm | 69 min. | Spanish with English subtitles. Director: Juan Padrón.

In this offbeat animated feature, a scientist invents a potion that allows vampires to live under the rays of the sun at last. When word gets out to the bloodsuckers around the world, they fly to Cuba to gain control of the potion, leading to a battle between American and East European vampires. One of the few Cuban films to receive US distribution in the 1980s, Vampires in Havana is a clever mix of horror and political satire.

From the Archives at UNCSA: Founded in the 1990s, the Moving Image Archives at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem provided a home for thousands of 35mm film prints once kept at dozens of National Film Service depots across the country. Slated for destruction, the prints were rescued and trucked to a state-of-the-art archival facility, providing a foundation for what is now one of the largest 35mm collections in the world. Consisting primarily of titles released in the 1950s to the early 1990s, the holdings include widely distributed Hollywood classics, subtitled releases of foreign-language titles, grindhouse staples, cult movies, and some truly rare oddities. The series of all 35mm prints will include nine feature-length rarities from three continents and a personal appearance from the UNCSA’s Senior Curator, David Spencer, who will discuss the history of the collection and its holdings.