Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story

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Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story
Film poster
SpanishYuli
Directed byIcíar Bollaín
Written byPaul Laverty
Based onNo Way Home
by Carlos Acosta
Produced byAndrea Calderwood
Starring
    • Carlos Acosta
    • Santiago Alfonso
    • Keyvin Martínez
    • Edilson Manuel Olbera Núñez
    • Laura de la Uz
    • Yerlín Pérez
CinematographyAlex Catalán
Edited byNacho Ruiz Capillas
Music byAlberto Iglesias
Production
companies
The Match Factory
BBC Films
Creative Scotland
Morena Films
Potboiler Productions
Distributed byModern Films
Release dates
23 September 2018 (San Sebastián)
14 December 2018 (general release in Spain)
Running time
115 minutes
CountriesSpain
Cuba
United Kingdom
Germany
LanguagesSpanish
English

Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story is a 2018 dance biopic about the Cuban ballet director and dancer Carlos Acosta; based on his biography and starring Acosta as the adult version of himself, it was directed by Icíar Bollaín.[1][2][3][4]

Synopsis[edit]

Carlos Acosta, an Afro-Cuban boy growing up in Havana, is nicknamed Yuli by his father, who is proud of his heritage — the name is drawn from Santería beliefs. He is a talented dancer and is enrolled in a prestigious ballet school by his parents, who are divorced. The film shows his development from a boy who worries that ballet is "effeminate", to becoming one of the world's greatest performers and directors, and a pioneer among Black dancers.

Release[edit]

Carlos Acosta at the 2019 Goya Awards.

The film premiered at San Sebastián International Film Festival on 23 September 2018.[5]

Yuli received very positive reviews, scoring 93% (from 27 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes.[6] The Guardian gave it three stars out of five, calling Yuli "energetic, emotionally reflective" and praising the dance sequences and Edlison Manuel Olbera Núñez's performance as young Acosta, but criticising some "clunky" dialogue.[7]

Acosta was nominated for the Goya Award for Best New Actor at the 33rd Goya Awards. Eva Valiño, Pelayo Gutiérrez and Alberto Ovejero were nominated for Best Sound, Paul Laverty for Best Adapted Screenplay, Alex Catalán for Best Cinematography and Alberto Iglesias for Best Original Score.[8] Iglesias won a Platino Award at the 6th Platino Awards for best score.[9] At the British Independent Film Awards 2019, Edlison Manuel Olbera Núñez was nominated for a BIFA Award for Best Supporting Actor.[10]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The BBC Screens the Cuban dancer's story". Culture Whisper.
  2. ^ "YULI: THE CARLOS ACOSTA STORY in cinemas October 31".
  3. ^ Shurvell, Joanne. "Yuli, An Unmissable New Film About Royal Ballet Star Carlos Acosta". Forbes.
  4. ^ "Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story". Modern Films.
  5. ^ Romney2018-09-23T14:36:00+01:00, Jonathan. "'Yuli': San Sebastian Review". Screen.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Yuli" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
  7. ^ "Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story review – unflinching biopic of a ballet superstar". the Guardian. April 11, 2019.
  8. ^ "Yuli » Premios Goya 2022". www.premiosgoya.com.
  9. ^ "'Roma' obtiene nueva nominaciones a los Premios Platino" (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Armando Iannucci's David Copperfield leads Bifa nominations". TheGuardian.com. 30 October 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-26.

External links[edit]