Oscar-Nominated Director Hubert Sauper Talks EPICENTRO On Tom Needham's SOUNDS OF FILM

Hubert Sauper, the director of EPICENTRO, is Tom Needham's special guest this Thursday on WUSB's SOUNDS OF FILM.

The latest documentary from Oscar-nominated director Hubert Sauper is a creative portrait of "utopian" Cuba and its resilient people a century after the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana, the event that ushered in the American Empire alongside a modern form of world conquest: cinema itself.

Hubert Sauper, the director of Sundance winner WE COME AS FRIENDS and the Oscar-nominated DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE, will be talking about EPICENTRO, an immersive and metaphorical portrait of post-colonial Cuba. This explosion of the USS Maine ended Spanish colonial dominance in the Americas and ushered in the era of the American Empire. At the same time and place, a powerful tool of conquest was born: cinema as propaganda. In EPICENTRO, Sauper explores a century of interventionism and myth-making together with the extraordinary people of Havana - particularly its children, who he calls "young prophets." The film launches in virtual cinemas through Kino Marquee starting Friday, August 28.

Sauper is known for his socio-political documentary films which have garnered over fifty major international prizes including at Berlin, Venice, Sundance, the European Film Academy Award, the Austrian Academy Award, as well as the French "Cesar." He received an Academy Award nomination for DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE (2004), a documentary spotlighting the environmental impact of the fishing industry in the fragile Tanzanian ecosystem, and was last at Sundance with WE COME AS FRIENDS (2014), which focuses on the war conflict among the Sudanese and was awarded a Special Jury Award at the festival.

Tom Needham's THE SOUNDS OF FILM is the nation's longest running film, music and ideas themed radio show. For the past 30 years, the program has delivered a popular mix of interviews and music to listeners all over Long Island, parts of Connecticut and streaming worldwide live on the internet at wusb.fm. Past people interviewed for the show include Alec Baldwin, Billy Joel, Noah Baumbach, Matthew Broderick, Ralph Macchio, Marco Beltrami and Alexander Payne.