Kathryn Bigelow hours before winning the Best Director Oscar©

Unable to contain his enthusiasm after arriving in Cuba, producer Sidney Ganis told the New York Times that “This is a fascinating place.”

Of course it was rather tepid considering what he could have said.

Ganis is part of a delegation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that includes Director Kathryn Bigelow for the 32nd International Festival of New Latin American Cinema.

The Americans plan to meet with Cuban filmmakers.

The Academy entourage have reportedly remained agnostic about politics, with Ganis saying that “It seems like the problems are the same all over the world.  Producers like myself are hunting for money to make movies.”