Chico and Rita
Oscar-winning director Fernando Trueba (Belle Epoque) and Spain’s most successful designer Javier Mariscal’s new animated film Chico & Rita will open across the UK on 19 November, released by CinemaNX.
Trueba and Mariscal, close collaborators and friends for many years, celebrate their passion for the music and culture of Cuba with an epic animated story of love and heartbreak, set against the colour and bustle of Havana, New York, Las Vegas, Hollywood and Paris in the late 1940s and early '50s.
In Chico & Rita, a gifted songwriter and beautiful singer chase their dreams – and each other – from Havana to New York and Las Vegas.
Chico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and romantic desire unite them, but their journey – in the tradition of the Latin ballad, the bolero – brings heartache and torment.
With an original soundtrack by legendary Cuban pianist, bandleader and composer Bebo Valdés, Chico & Rita captures a definitive moment in the evolution of jazz music.
The film features music by jazz legends Thelonious Monk, Cole Porter, Dizzy Gillespie and Freddy Cole (brother of Nat King Cole).
Chico and Rita is released 19th November.