Por Primera Vez/For the First Time

Silkscreen, 29 15/16 x 20 1/16 inches. Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). Courtesy of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics

In 1961, ICAIC created cine móvil, mobile project units that brought films to remote parts of Cuba, which did not have movie theaters or even electricity. Audiences enjoyed free film screenings and discussions at these traveling theaters. Charlie Chaplin’s "Modern Times," a comedy about confronting modernization, was the first film many saw, and Octavio Cortázar’s 1967 documentary "Por Primera Vez"/"For the First Time" captured audience’s joyous reactions to seeing their first film.