Cuban CinemaThe earliest films made in Cubanewsreel footage of the Cuban Spanish American Wardate from the end of the nineteenth century, but Cuba cannot be said to have had an indigenous film industry before the revolution of 1959. The melodramas, musicals, and comedies made until then reflected Hollywoodsand the United Statesscultural domination of the island, but the revolution precipitated urgent debates about the role of cinema in a socialist country and the