Miñuca Villaverde

Miñuca VILLAVERDE (Cuba) is a filmmaker and writer whose work spans Cuban cinema and the New York experimental film scene. She began her career at the Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos, contributing as an actress and screenwriter to productions such as El parque (1963) and Elena (1964). After leaving Cuba in 1965, she directed several short films, including Blanca Puntica, A Girl in Love (1973), recipient of an Individual Independent Fellowship Award from the Creative Artists’ Program Service, as well as To My Father (1974) and Poor Cinderella, Still Ironing Her Husband’s Shirt (1978). Her documentary Tent City (1980), portraying a refugee camp during the Mariel exodus, remains one of the most significant films of the Cuban diaspora. Villaverde is also the author of Fue una gran fiesta (2009, with Fernando Villaverde) and Los días de la coleccionista (2010). She is one of the filmmakers featured in the IFFR 2026 the Future Is NOW focus.

Filmography

(selection) Blanca Puntica, A Girl in Love (1973, short), To My Father (1974, short), Poor Cinderella, Still Ironing Her Husband’s Shirt (1978, short), Tent City (1980, doc)