del Toro Unveils Directorial Debut Film in Cuba…

Should Benicio del Toro decide to stop acting, he could easily transition to a life behind the camera.

During the screening of the 44-year-old Puerto Rican actor’s directorial debut in the movie “Seven Days in Havana,” del Toro said the labor of love that went into his labor of love was so gratifying he plans to keep working behind the camera.

Benicio del Toro Directorial Debut

“To see the motivation of all the artists, working 14 hours a day, to see the confidence they had in me, the collaboration between everything, is something very special,” said del Toro at a news conference in Havana, where “Seven Days” screened at the city’s annual film festival.

“It’s an experience that motivates me to dream of trying it again,” said del Toro, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in “Traffic.”

“Seven Days,” a French-Spanish production made up of seven shorts, is based on stories by Cuban writer Leonardo Padura that take place on different days of the week and show different visions of Cuban society.

Del Toro directed the first segment: “The Yuma,” Cuban slang for “The American,” about a young American who travels to Havana for the film festival.

“The theme of the short is to show how people can retain their dignity” says del Toro. “It’s something very human.”

Josh Hutcherson, who appears in the title role in “The Yuma,” said del Toro yelled quite a bit but was a genius director he’d love to work with again.