Fidel: The Untold Story A Film by Estela Bravo
Fidel: The Untold Story, a film by Estela Bravo

Fidel played to full-houses in Toronto three days after 9/11 (92 minutes, color, 2001).
Bravo's Fidel, was commissioned by Channel 4 in Britain, won the Distinguished Achievement for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking from the Urbanworld Film Festival in New York, and played the Toronto International Film Festival to sold-out crowds despite the fact that it opened three days after the September 11 attack on New York and Washington. It has played in arthouses and repertory cinemas throughout the U.S.

Fidel covers 40 years of the Cuban revolution and is unprecedented in providing its viewers with an understanding of Cuba and its leader. Ms. Bravo uses exclusive archival footage and a remarkable mix of interviews with Fidel. She includes such luminaries as Harry Belafonte, Aleida Guevera (Che's daughter), Alice Walker, Ramsey Clark, Sydney Pollack, Angela Davis and longtime friend of Castro, Nobel Prize-winning writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Nelson Mandela and filmmaker Estela Bravo with Fidel Castro.

Nelson Mandela and filmmaker Estela Bravo with Fidel Castro.
We hear from journalists, both in Miami and Cuba, guerrillas who fought in the revolution, politicians, writers, musicians, scientists, old teachers, family and friends. There are priceless and touching exchanges between Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro. Alice Walker (The Color Purple) talks about her great admiration for the man then breaks off, puzzling over the fact that she's heard he can't dance.

Harry Belafonte, who was performing in Mafia-run jazz clubs in Havana at the time, told Ms. Bravo, "I knew Cuba before Fidel Castro. I did not see democracy in Cuba. If anything, I saw blatant racism and oppression."

Compay Segundo, of the Buena Vista Social Club, says in Fidel, "The people love him. If they stop caring for him, they'll topple him. But until they do, he's in."

There is clearly a side to Fidel that Americans have not been privy to. Historian Leal Eusebio agrees. "During this time," he says, "[Fidel] has made Cuba the critical conscience of Latin America."

Angela Davis aptly notes, "Fidel is the leader of one of the smallest countries in the world, but he has helped to shape the destinies of millions of people across the globe."

African Americans, by and large, hold Fidel Castro in esteem. Fidel was the first, and probably only, visiting head of state to stay in Harlem. In a story that has now taken on mythic qualities, Castro, while in New York for the 1960 opening session of the United Nations, was turned away from the Hotel Shelburne because of concern about "adverse publicity." The black owner of Harlem's Hotel Theresa invited Castro, along with his entire delegation, to lodge with them, free of charge. Castro accepted and the black community has never forgotten him.

Estela Bravo's Fidel offers in-depth portrait of the enduring international leader who stood up to the U.S. and who is admired the world over as a champion of the poor and powerless.

Fidel Castro speaks with Malcolm X
Fidel Castro talks with Malcolm X in Harlem in 1960.