Mexican university screens documentary about Fidel

HAVANA, Cuba, Jun 5 (ACN) Fidel de cerca (Fidel up close) is the title of the documentary made by filmmakers Eduardo Flores and Gabriel Beristaín (Mexico) and Roberto Chile (Cuba) about details of the guerrilla, son, brother, father and grandfather behind the historic leader’s personality.

“In 2015 I came up with this idea of making a portrait, rather than a biography, of one of the most emblematic personalities of the 20th century, Flores said.

The story begins with Fidel as a child, presenting testimonies of siblings, children and close friends of the top leader of the Revolution and interviews with figures ranging from Mariela Castro Espín and Aleida March to Silvio Rodríguez and Elián González, to mention just a few.
As to Fidel Castro's adulthood, the producers addressed historical events, including the literacy campaign, the qualification of doctors, and the leader’s emphasis on agriculture and sports.

"I found the father, grandfather and son behind the uniform. Although he is a titanic figure who put Cuba on the world map, he was as normal as the next person, and it seems to me that being able to know this side of him helps even more to portray the character’s essence", Flores remarked about his film.

Fidel de cerca was presented in 2019 in Havana during the 41st International Festival of New Latin American Cinema.