La sagrada de Cuba

La sagrada de Cuba

Elke Margarete Lehrenkrauss, Christiane Buchmann (DoP)

»The cow is the symbol of our country,« says Luis, a herdsman. Anyone in Cuba who slaughters a cow can get up to 30 years in prison. An outdated law dating back to Castro’s revolution is the reason behind this odd state of affairs. In contemplative images, then, La sagrada de Cuba offers a portrait of a country at a standstill, using Cuban cowherds’ stories to tell of the economic significance of the animal for the island beyond revolutionary constraints. It also narrates of cattle mafias, black-market meat, thieves, lovers, carnivore tourists and sleepless herdsmen caught between hope and resignation.

Director

Elke Margarete Lehrenkrauss

Cinematography

Christiane Buchmann, Elke Margarete Lehrenkrauss

Production

Elke Margarete Lehrenkrauss in cooperation with  Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln and EICTV Cuba

Elke Margarete Lehrenkrauss

Elke Margarete Lehrenkrauss, born 1979, concentrates on documentary film and art photography. She studied film at the Cologne Academy of Media Arts and video art at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences & Arts in Switzerland. Her graduation film Romanze o.T. received its German première at DOK Leipzig in 2013. In 2008, she spent a year at the International School of Film and Television (EICTV) in Cuba and, until 2010, held a scholarship from the German National Academic Foundation. In 2003, she was awarded the Swiss New Media Award. Ms Lehrenkrauss is currently guesting at Nordmedia in Hannover as a scholarship holder.


Films by  Elke Margarete Lehrenkrauss
Romanze o.T. 2013

Christiane Buchmann (DoP)

From 2004 to 2010, Christiane Buchmann studied design with a focus on film & TV camera at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences. During this time, she also worked in television and advertising. In 2008, she spent a semester at the International School of Film and Television EICTV in Cuba. There she shot the film Efecto Dominó which has been nominated for Best Camera at the IFFF Dortmund+Köln. In 2008, she founded the Filmwiese Production Company. In 2010, she made two documentaries in Tanzania, including her graduation film Sinema Porini. She subsequently completed her master’s degree in camera & image design at Hamburg Media School with her graduation film there, Dedowtschina, premiering at the competition for the Max Ophüls Prize 2013.


Films by Christiane Buchmann (Selection)
Dedowtschina 2013 | ExMun 2012 | Nachtbus 2011 | Sinema Porini – Kino im Busch 2011 | Efecto Dominó 2010 | 21kHz 2009 | Las Intocables 2008 | Muse Modellschule 2007 | Weihnachten 2006 | ARD Legenden, Rudi Völler 2005