Rubens Riol

Rubens Riol (Consolación del Sur, Cuba, 1985) is a researcher, essayist, and film critic. He earned a B.A. in Art History from the University of Havana (2009) and taught at San Geronimo College, where he founded and directed Proyecto Equilátero, a monthly film discussion series on cultural diversity. In 2014, he was selected to participate in the Talent Press program of the Guadalajara International Film Festival.

His writings have appeared in numerous publications in Cuba, Mexico, and the United States. He is the author of "La caricia del látigo. Rufo Caballero: un ídolo imposible" (Ediciones ICAIC, 2016); "El entierro de las consignas. Textos críticos sobre arte cubano" (Editorial Hypermedia, 2018); "Cuentos de Anito Reverbero: El misterio de los pollos macabros" (Children’s Literature, CreateSpace, 2018); and "La emboscada del erizo. Malabares y certezas de un crítico de cine" (Editorial Casa Vacía, 2025).

His work has also been included in the anthologies "50 años de cine cubano, 1959–2008" (Editorial Letras Cubanas, 2019); "Lenguaje sucio. Narraciones críticas sobre el arte cubano" (Editorial Hypermedia, 2019); "Apasionados y racionales. Entrevistas a críticos cubanos de cine" (Editorial Casa Vacía, 2025); and "Almodóvar: El cine como vida" (Editorial Fragua, 2025).

In recent years, he has been a columnist for Cine Cubano, El Nuevo Herald, Imagen, and Hypermedia Magazine. Since 2015, he has lived in the United States and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Princeton University, where he earned his M.A. in 2024.