Conghaileach
21st August 2002, 23:19
FIDEL Opens October 18, 2002 at the Quad Cinema in New York City and
The BAM Rose Cinema in Brooklyn
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -FIDEL
A "Rousing!" (New York Times) New Documentary
About the Leader of the Cuban Revolution
Opens October 18, 2002 at the Quad Cinema in New York City and The BAM
Rose Cinema in Brooklyn
"History will absolve me!" - Fidel Castro
As Fidel Castro nears 44 years as the leader of Cuba, there are many
who see him as a champion of the poor and powerless and others who say
he is a ruthless dictator. He is often dismissed as a relic yet many
revere him as a savior. Despite these conflicting attitudes it remains
clear that Fidel Castro is one of the most influential
and controversial figures of our time. Rarely are Americans given a
chance to see inside the world of this socialist leader. The new
documentary film by Estela Bravo, FIDEL, offers a unique opportunity to
view the man through rare interviews with Castro and his supporters,
family and friends, historians, and exclusive footage from Cuban
State archives.
Americans such as Alice Walker, Harry Belafonte, Sydney Pollack,
Muhammad Ali, and Ted Turner discuss the enigmatic personality of the
man. Former and current US government figures including Arthur
Schlesinger, Ramsey Clark, Wayne Smith and Congressman Charles Rangel -
as well as former CIA agents - offer political and historical
perspectives on Castro and the long-standing US embargo against
Cuba. Family members and close friends, including Nobel Prize-winning
author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, offer a window into the very private
life of Fidel. Bravo's camera captures him swimming with bodyguards,
visiting his childhood home and school, joking with his friend
Nelson Mandela, meeting Elian Gonzalez, and celebrating his birthday
with members of the Buena Vista Social Club.
Juxtaposing the personal anecdotal with the history of the Cuban
revolution and the fight to survive the post-Soviet period, FIDEL tells
a previously untold story and presents a new view of this powerful and
compelling figure.
Estela Bravo is an American documentary filmmaker who for the past
forty years divided her time between the United States and Latin
America. Her thirty award-winning films have focused on events
throughout Latin America, Africa, the Caribbean and the US and have
been shown on many international television stations. At present, she
is completing Operation Peter Pan, the story of 14,000 Cuban children
whose parents sent them to the US in the early years of the Revolution.
She is also working on The Found Children of Argentina, a sequel of her
earlier film, The Missing Children.
"Rousing and Likeable!" - Elvis Mitchell, New York Times
" !" Remarkable, startling!" - Box Office Magazine
"Estela Bravo's films are the work of an intelligent heart; moving,
informative, challenging, all at once: a viewer feels trusted to be
just as smart and compassionate - in as tough a way as she is." - Alice
Walker, Author
"Deep down is her wonderfully internationalistic outlook which says
that all of us, sooner or later, must start working closely together if
we are going to build a good life for this planet. " - Pete Seeger,
Folk Singer
"I have no idea how she came to be a filmmaker, what inspired her to
make those documentaries that cast so much light on some of the dark
corners of our conscience. I don't know how she does it, but the truth
is that those who face her camera and her microphone somehow
find themselves disarmed. Estela invites them to speak about things as
they are, or as they think they are." - Tomas Gutierrez Alea, Cuban
Filmmaker, Strawberry and Chocolate
DIRECTOR ESTELA BRAVO
IS AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS
Press screenings will be held on
Thursday October 3 at 6:00 p.m. and
Tuesday October 15 at 1 p.m.
at Magno 2 Screening Room, 729 Seventh Ave (48th & 49th)
To RSVP please call Dawn Durante at 212-243-0600 x 15
or email [email protected]
For more information and interview possibilities, please contact Kelly
Hargraves at 1-877-457-5133 or [email protected]
----------------
Kelly Hargraves First Run Features 1-877-457-5133
The BAM Rose Cinema in Brooklyn
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -FIDEL
A "Rousing!" (New York Times) New Documentary
About the Leader of the Cuban Revolution
Opens October 18, 2002 at the Quad Cinema in New York City and The BAM
Rose Cinema in Brooklyn
"History will absolve me!" - Fidel Castro
As Fidel Castro nears 44 years as the leader of Cuba, there are many
who see him as a champion of the poor and powerless and others who say
he is a ruthless dictator. He is often dismissed as a relic yet many
revere him as a savior. Despite these conflicting attitudes it remains
clear that Fidel Castro is one of the most influential
and controversial figures of our time. Rarely are Americans given a
chance to see inside the world of this socialist leader. The new
documentary film by Estela Bravo, FIDEL, offers a unique opportunity to
view the man through rare interviews with Castro and his supporters,
family and friends, historians, and exclusive footage from Cuban
State archives.
Americans such as Alice Walker, Harry Belafonte, Sydney Pollack,
Muhammad Ali, and Ted Turner discuss the enigmatic personality of the
man. Former and current US government figures including Arthur
Schlesinger, Ramsey Clark, Wayne Smith and Congressman Charles Rangel -
as well as former CIA agents - offer political and historical
perspectives on Castro and the long-standing US embargo against
Cuba. Family members and close friends, including Nobel Prize-winning
author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, offer a window into the very private
life of Fidel. Bravo's camera captures him swimming with bodyguards,
visiting his childhood home and school, joking with his friend
Nelson Mandela, meeting Elian Gonzalez, and celebrating his birthday
with members of the Buena Vista Social Club.
Juxtaposing the personal anecdotal with the history of the Cuban
revolution and the fight to survive the post-Soviet period, FIDEL tells
a previously untold story and presents a new view of this powerful and
compelling figure.
Estela Bravo is an American documentary filmmaker who for the past
forty years divided her time between the United States and Latin
America. Her thirty award-winning films have focused on events
throughout Latin America, Africa, the Caribbean and the US and have
been shown on many international television stations. At present, she
is completing Operation Peter Pan, the story of 14,000 Cuban children
whose parents sent them to the US in the early years of the Revolution.
She is also working on The Found Children of Argentina, a sequel of her
earlier film, The Missing Children.
"Rousing and Likeable!" - Elvis Mitchell, New York Times
" !" Remarkable, startling!" - Box Office Magazine
"Estela Bravo's films are the work of an intelligent heart; moving,
informative, challenging, all at once: a viewer feels trusted to be
just as smart and compassionate - in as tough a way as she is." - Alice
Walker, Author
"Deep down is her wonderfully internationalistic outlook which says
that all of us, sooner or later, must start working closely together if
we are going to build a good life for this planet. " - Pete Seeger,
Folk Singer
"I have no idea how she came to be a filmmaker, what inspired her to
make those documentaries that cast so much light on some of the dark
corners of our conscience. I don't know how she does it, but the truth
is that those who face her camera and her microphone somehow
find themselves disarmed. Estela invites them to speak about things as
they are, or as they think they are." - Tomas Gutierrez Alea, Cuban
Filmmaker, Strawberry and Chocolate
DIRECTOR ESTELA BRAVO
IS AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS
Press screenings will be held on
Thursday October 3 at 6:00 p.m. and
Tuesday October 15 at 1 p.m.
at Magno 2 Screening Room, 729 Seventh Ave (48th & 49th)
To RSVP please call Dawn Durante at 212-243-0600 x 15
or email [email protected]
For more information and interview possibilities, please contact Kelly
Hargraves at 1-877-457-5133 or [email protected]
----------------
Kelly Hargraves First Run Features 1-877-457-5133