María Antonia

Miami Film Festival is proud to present the world premiere screening of the restoration of Sergio Giral’s classic film, Maria Antonia. Set in pre-revolutionary Havana, it follows the turbulent life of a fiercely independent Afro-Cuban woman whose defiance of social norms puts her in constant conflict with the world around her. Adapted from Eugenio Hernández Espinosa’s acclaimed stage play, the film portrays María Antonia’s struggle against poverty, machismo, the rigid moral codes of her neighborhood, and her passionate but destructive relationship with a charismatic boxer – which pulls her into a spiral of jealousy, violence, and fatalism.

Through her story, Giral explores race, class, spirituality, and the resilience of Afro-Cuban women, delivering a portrait that is both intimate tragedy and social critique.