The poster was silk-screened in the Cuban Film Institute's workshop in Havana in the past 15 years, some years after the poster was first released in 1977. A word about Cuban silk-screens: Once the 1st Editions are sold, the Cuban Film Institute will sometimes (not always) make a relatively small number of official 2nd Editions in the same silk-screen workshop, using the same handmade, one-color-at-a-time techniques. Beware of cheap, photocopied, mass-produced reproduction "Cuban posters" made in the U.S. that lack the authenticity of the true Cuban silkscreens.

(The poster in this listing is one of two posters that Rene Azcuy designed in 1977 for BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN. In this listing, we are only offering the poster that is pictured above.)

Overall condition of this poster is good; as with many Cuban movie posters, please note that you might find small imperfections because these posters are, after all, handmade. Please see the images we have posted to judge this poster for yourself. Buy with 100 percent confidence; posters purchased from the Cuban Poster Gallery on eBay can be returned for any reason within 30 days.

TITLE: EL ACORAZADO POTMKIN (Battleship Potemkin), designed for a showing in Cuba of this vintage Russian film.

DESIGNER: Rene Azcuy (1939-2019)

MEDIUM: Silk-screen / Serigraph

SIZE: 20 x 30 inches; 51 x 76 cm

A few words about collecting Cuba's silk-screen movie posters:

For more than 60 years, the Cuban Film Institute has been designing silk-screened posters for most every movie shown on the island, whether the films originated in Cuba, the United States, Brazil, Japan or Italy. In the midst of the Cold War 1960s and 1970s, many of the subtitled foreign films shown in Cuba came from the island nation's communist allies in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Vietnam and even North Korea.

Unlike in the United States, where movie posters are often dominated by images of Hollywood stars, the Cubans assign a graphic artist to design an original piece of artwork for each film. These posters are widely recognized in graphic design circles as stylish works of art, handmade one color at a time and often under difficult circumstances (at various times, paint and even paper have been in short supply on the island.)

Cuba's silk-screen movie posters are nothing less than museum pieces. Examples of Cuban poster art can be found in the permanent collections of museums across the globe from the Victoria & Albert in London to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, as well as in prestigious institutions such as the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles.

Adding to their collectability, Cuba's movie posters are produced in relatively small numbers. Typically, a few hundred copies are made for each film, although the runs have been as low as 50. Responding to demand from collectors, the Cuban Film Institute has re-screened some of its more popular posters. That's why some posters created in the 1960s and 1970s began reappearing on the Caribbean island in the 1990s and 2000s.

Further adding to their collectability, many of Cuba's vintage posters are imperiled. Although a few hundred copies may have been screened originally, relatively few have survived, due to the island's wet and humid climate, inadequate storage facilities in Havana and improper handling in Cuba and elsewhere. To us, these survivors are rare beauties, even those with obvious flaws. We are proud to have rescued hundreds of posters from almost certain extinction by storing them in an air conditioned, acid-free environment.

We at the Cuban Poster Gallery offer both 1st and 2nd Edition posters to our customers on eBay and in our Washington D.C. gallery. We consider both to be collectible, and (in response to a question we often get) all of these posters were legally imported because the U.S. government exempts artwork from its economic embargo against Cuba. While the pricier originals are favored by some collectors, the re-screens are also collectible because they were made in the same Havana workshop as the originals. Note that we never sell unauthorized reproductions that have been cranked out in print shops in the U.S. and Europe.

To our eBay customers, we pledge to accurately describe the posters we list and price them fairly based on condition and scarcity. Have a question? Please don't hesitate to contact us.