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Martí Noticias: French award to the EICTV director called a «whitewash»

The Observatory of Cultural Rights condemned the award of France's Order of Arts and Letters to Susana Molina, director of the film school in San Antonio de los Baños, according to Martí Noticias.

The Observatory of Cultural Rights publicly condemned the award of France's Order of Arts and Letters to Susana Molina, director of the International School of Film and Television (EICTV) in San Antonio de los Baños, according to Martí Noticias, the only outlet to have reported the statement.

The decoration was presented in late October by the French ambassador to Cuba, Raphaël Trannoy, at the close of the 27th edition of the French Film Festival in Havana, with the declared aim of recognising Molina's work promoting French cinema and cultural exchange, the same outlet reported.

Anamely Ramos, a specialist with the observatory, called the award «regrettable» and said Molina's tenure, at the head of the school since 2023, has been caught up in episodes «not only of censorship, but also of blocking criticism and communication with students, with colleagues».

Ramos traced the start of that tenure to the tension over the censorship of a documentary by filmmaker Juan Pin Vilar, and recalled the school's institutional response to an investigation published in 2024 by the independent outlet El Estornudo, which revealed episodes of sexual and gender violence on campus.

The observatory argues that Molina has behaved «like a cultural commissar» rather than a manager open to dialogue, and reads the decoration as «a whitewash» of Cuban cultural institutions close to those in power. Martí Noticias adds that students and members of the academic community have reported problems with food, unsanitary conditions and a general deterioration of the campus, located in Artemisa province.

Neither Molina nor the French embassy in Cuba appears in the report with a response to these criticisms.

Sources: Martí Noticias

Data updated: 2026-11-06T16:15:00.000Z

Martí Noticias: French award to the EICTV director called a «whitewash» | Yamacoa Observatory