古巴向好萊塢敞開大門 本土電影人喜憂參半

During a shoot for the Showtime comedy series “House of Lies” last month, Don Cheadle sat outside a cafe in Old Havana, puffing on a fat cigar and clinking glasses with three compadres.

上月，唐·錢德爾(Don Cheadle)坐在哈瓦那老城的一家咖啡館外，拍攝Showtime的喜劇劇集《謊言屋》(House of Lies)。他抽着粗胖的雪茄，和三位同伴碰杯暢飲。

It was a novel scene — an american actor filming an american TV show on a Cuban street — and one that, until last month, would have been illegal under the United States’s economic embargo.

這是新鮮的一幕：美國演員在古巴街頭拍攝美國電視節目。而在上月之前，按照美國經濟禁令的規定，這種行爲還是違法的。

But regulations published by the Treasury Department on Jan. 26 now allow americans to shoot scripted movies and shows in Cuba for the first time in half a century. The rules opened the door to american projects — which could include scenes for the next “Fast & Furious” movie and an Ethan Hawke film — and to collaboration between Hollywood and the island’s underfunded film sector.

但美國財政部1月26日頒佈新規，允許美國人在古巴拍攝有劇本的電影和節目。這是半個世紀以來的第一次。新規爲美國的電影項目，也爲好萊塢與古巴資金不足的電影產業之間的協作敞開了大門，其中包括下一部《速度與激情》(Fast & Furious)和伊桑·霍克(Ethan Hawke)的一部電影。

“The world just got bigger because Cuba has become accessible,” said Matthew Carnahan, creator of “House of Lies.”

“因爲可以進入古巴，整個世界都變大了，”《謊言屋》的主創馬修·卡納漢(Matthew Carnahan)說。

as a location, Cuba was inspiring, if challenging, he said, but added, “I’m dreaming up reasons to go back.”

卡納漢稱，作爲一個取景地，古巴雖然充滿挑戰，但很能啓發靈感。他接着表示，“我正在琢磨理由再去古巴一次。”

a stream of american filmmakers needing to hire Cuban equipment and crews would be a boon to the country’s independent production industry, which sprouted in the late 1990s as digital technology made filmmaking more accessible and state money for movies ran dry.

一連串需要租借古巴設備，僱傭古巴劇組人員的美國電影人，可能會讓該國的獨立製片業受益。古巴的獨立電影產業出現於90年代末。當時，數字技術降低了電影製作的門檻，且國家用於電影製作的資金也枯竭了。

Some Cuban filmmakers worry, though, that their government will open its arms to Hollywood while continuing to give its own filmmakers the cold shoulder. Independent production companies in Cuba operate in a legal limbo, getting little or no funding from the state and often struggling to get their movies past the censors.

但一些古巴電影人擔心，他們的政府會在向好萊塢張開懷抱的同時，繼續冷落本國的電影人。古巴的獨立製片公司運行在法律的邊緣，從國家獲得的資金非常少，甚至沒有，並且常常難以讓自己的影片通過審查。

“It’s great that people from Hollywood want to come to Cuba, but it’s caught us at a bad moment,” said Carlos Lechuga, a Cuban director. “We have stories to tell, and right now we don’t feel that we can do that.”

“好萊塢的人想來古巴是好事，但現在時機不是很好，”古巴導演卡洛斯·萊丘加(Carlos Lechuga)說。“我們也有故事要講，但目前，我覺得我們做不到。”

The thaw between the United States and Cuba in 2014 prompted a swell of inquiries from americans eager to shoot there. The next “Fast & Furious” installment may be partly shot in Cuba, a spokeswoman for its studio, Universal Pictures, said, adding that the company “is currently seeking approval from the United States and Cuban governments.”

2014年，美國與古巴關係緩和，渴望去古巴拍片的美國人於是開始積極地諮詢。《速度與激情》系列的製作方環球影業(Universal Pictures)的一名女發言人稱，下一部影片的部分鏡頭可能會在古巴拍攝。該發言人接着表示，公司“目前正在爭取獲得美國和古巴政府的批准”。

and Cuban filmmakers have been fielding inquiries. “There isn’t a day that I am not meeting with a potential client from the United States,” said Oscar Ernesto Ortega, 29, whose El Central Producciones produces music videos, commercials and documentaries for clients like the Puerto Rican band Calle 13 and Red Bull Media House from offices in Miami and Havana.

古巴的電影人也一直在打聽。“我沒有哪天不是在接待美國來的潛在客戶，”29歲的奧斯卡·埃內斯托(Oscar Ernesto)說。他所在的中心製片公司(El Central Producciones)爲波多黎各樂隊“13街”(Calle 13)及紅牛媒體公司(Red Bull Media House)等客戶攝製音樂視頻、廣告和紀錄片。製作工作在該公司設在邁阿密和哈瓦那的辦公場所進行。

Boris Crespo, founder of BIC Producciones, in Havana, said he had been working flat out for the past year, providing production services for Conan O’Brien’s four-day visit to Cuba last year and the History channel’s “Top Gear,” which filmed an episode in Cuba in January.

哈瓦那BIC製片公司(BIC Producciones)創始人鮑里斯·克雷斯波(Boris Crespo)稱，去年一年，他一直在滿負荷工作，爲科南·奧布萊恩(Conan O’Brien)去年在古巴停留四天，以及歷史頻道1月在古巴拍攝的一集“極速巔峯”(Top Gear)提供製作服務。

Mr. Carnahan, who worked with Island Film, another Havana production company, said he was struck by the “passionate” crew and the quality of Cuban actors. (The “House of Lies” shoot was planned before the new regulations went into effect, so producers had to get a license from the Treasury Department.)

和哈瓦那另一家制片公司海島電影(Island Film)合作的卡納漢表示，他被古巴劇組人員的“熱情”和古巴演員的素質所打動。（《謊言屋》的拍攝是在新規生效前安排的，因此製片方必須得到財政部的許可。）

What Cuba is missing, he said, are decent cellphone connections, fast Internet access and even “basic things — hammers — things that we don’t give much thought to.”

卡納漢說，古巴缺的是像樣的手機信號、較快的網絡接入，甚至“像錘子這種我們沒太在意的基本用品”。

and the process of procuring shooting permits was extremely slow, he said.

獲得拍攝許可的過程極其緩慢，他說。

Mr. Crespo said that the state-funded Cuban Institute of Cinematic art and Industry “drowns in its own bureaucracy.”

克雷斯波說，政府資助的古巴電影藝術與工業研究所(Cuban Institute of Cinematic art and Industry)“受制於自身的官僚體制”。

Some Cuban filmmakers worry that american producers will steer clear of controversial themes in order to get permission to film from Cuban cultural authorities, who require all filmmakers to submit a synopsis or script of their project. Mr. Carnahan said that the “House of Lies” script was reviewed by the Cuban culture ministry, but that the authorities requested no changes and had “a sense of humor about the material,” which ribbed Cuban bureaucracy.

一些古巴電影人擔心，美國的製片方會有意避開有爭議的主題，以便獲得古巴文化部門的拍攝許可。古巴的文化部門要求所有制片方提交拍攝項目的劇情梗概或劇本。卡納漢稱古巴文化部檢查了《謊言屋》的劇本，但表示當局未要求修改，而且“對題材很有幽默感”。該劇的拍攝內容是拿古巴的官僚體制打趣。

But Cuban filmmakers said the authorities were intolerant of works that touched on issues like the early treatment of H.I.V.-positive Cubans or the culture of citizens spying on one another, topics that have been covered in their films.

但古巴的電影人表示，如果作品觸及HIV病毒陽性患者的早期治療，或古巴民衆相互監視的文化現象，當局是不能容忍的。他們的電影關注的便是這類題材。

Mr. Lechuga said that his first feature, “Melaza,” about a destitute former sugar-producing town, which was shown at the Havana film festival in 2012 and won an independent critics’ prize, was not released in Cuban theaters for nearly a year, and then only in one cinema.

萊丘加稱，他的第一部長片《蜜糖》(Melaza)講述的故事關於一個曾是產糖基地的貧困小鎮。影片在2012年的哈瓦那電影節上放映，並榮獲“獨立影評人獎”，但在之後近一年的時間裏並未在古巴放映，後來也只在一家影院上映。

“The government doesn’t mind if you shoot ‘Fast & Furious’ here, but it doesn’t want the local industry to make movies about our reality,” he said.

“政府不介意在這裏拍《速度與激情》，但它不想讓國內電影業拍攝關於現實生活的電影，”他說。

Lazaro Gonzalez Gonzalez, whose documentary about cross-dressing performers, “Mascaras” (2014), has had a very limited release in Cuba, said he hoped the new rules would make it easier to distribute work in the United States.

拉薩羅·岡薩雷斯·岡薩雷斯(Lazaro Gonzalez Gonzalez)表示，希望新規能減少在美國發行影片的難度。他2014年的紀錄片作品《面具》(Mascaras)把鏡頭對準了異裝演出的表演者，在古巴只進行了非常有限的放映。

Currently, only a few organizations, like the Vermont nonprofit americas Media Initiative, distribute Cuban independent films in the United States. Broader, commercial releases would generate more income, Mr. Gonzalez said.

目前，只有少數幾個組織，如佛蒙特州的非營利機構“美洲媒體倡議”(americas Media Initiative)，在美國發行古巴的獨立電影。岡薩雷斯稱，更廣泛的商業放映會帶來更多收入。

Claudia Calvi , executive producer at Producciones de la 5ta avenida, said she was disappointed that americans, so far, did not seem interested in co-productions. Her company has been involved in a handful of such films with European producers, like “Hotel Nueva Isla” (2014), a feature-length portrait of life in an abandoned hotel that she produced with El Viaje Films of Spain. She said no american filmmaker had asked what 5ta avenida was working on or talked about developing joint projects.

第五大道製作公司(Producciones de la 5ta avenida)執行製作人克洛迪婭·卡爾維諾(Claudia Calvi )稱她感到失望，因爲迄今爲止，美國人似乎無意於聯合攝製電影。她所在的公司和歐洲製片方合作，參與了幾部影片的拍攝，如《新州旅店》(Hotel Nueva Isla)。她與西班牙旅行影業(El Viaje Films)共同製作的《新州旅店》是一部電影長片，描述的是一家廢棄旅館裏的生活。她說，沒有哪個美國電影人問過第五大道公司在做什麼項目，或是討論發展合作項目。

Still, the détente has spurred exchanges. During Havana’s film festival in December, a delegation of actors, directors and writers organized by the Sundance Institute’s feature film program offered workshops on screenwriting, production, documentary editing and scoring for film.

但兩國關係的改善推動了雙方的交流。在去年12月的哈瓦那電影節期間，聖丹斯學院(Sundance Institute)長片項目組織了一個由演員、導演和編劇組成的代表團，開辦了以劇本創作、製片、紀錄片剪輯和電影配樂爲主題的研討班。

Ethan Hawke, who was part of the group, told reporters at the time that he wanted to film an adaptation of Tennessee Williams’s “Camino Real.” He confirmed his plans in a statement to The New York Times, and said he been scouting Havana.

當時，作爲代表團成員之一的伊桑·霍克對記者表示，他想改編田納西·威廉斯(Tennessee Williams)的《國王大道》(Camino Real)。他在發給《紐約時報》的一份聲明中證實了自己的計劃，並稱他一直在哈瓦那選角。

Michelle Satter, director of the Sundance feature film program, said the détente was a chance to exchange ideas with, and help train, the next generation of Cuban filmmakers.

聖丹斯電影長片項目主任米歇爾·薩特(Michelle Satter)稱，兩國關係緩和是與古巴下一代電影人交流思想，並通過培訓幫助他們成長的機會。

“We’re listening,” she said by telephone from Los angeles. “We want to hear these stories.”

“我們正在傾聽，”她在洛杉磯接受電話採訪時說。“我們希望聽到這些故事。”

Mr. Carnahan said that he was pondering a Cuban project — to improve access to equipment, say, or to help them tighten up scripts.

卡納漢稱，他正在琢磨一個針對古巴的項目，比方說讓他們更方便地使用設備，或是幫他們潤色劇本。

and there were plenty of stories in Cuba, he said.

他說，古巴有很多故事。

“It’s so interesting there right now,” he said, “I wish I could just sit there with a bag of popcorn and watch.

“那裏現在太有意思了，”他說。“我希望能拿着一袋爆米花，坐在那裏看。”