Waiting for Fidel

Waiting for Fidel is a Canadian documentary by Michael Rubbo and starring director Rubbo, former Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador Joey Smallwood and Newfoundland media mogul Geoff Stirling. It depicts Rubbo, Smallwood, and Stirling's unsuccessful attempt to interview Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Waiting for Fidel
Directed byMichael Rubbo
Produced byTom Daly
StarringJoey Smallwood, Geoff Stirling, Michael Rubbo
Edited byMichael Rubbo
Distributed byNational Film Board of Canada
Release date
1974
Running time
57 min 50 s
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
BudgetC$ 125,155 [1]

Plot

Two Canadians, former premier of Newfoundland Joey Smallwood and broadcaster Geoff Stirling, travel to Cuba in a private jet. They attempt to meet Fidel Castro to discuss Cuba–United States relations, but Castro never shows up. Instead, much of the film consists of discussions between progressive Smallwood and free-marketer Stirling about the effects of the Castro regime.

The film's name is a take on the play Waiting for Godot, which has a similar conceit of two men conversing while they await a guest who never arrives.

Critical reception and influence

New York Times film reviewer Richard Eder observed that "It is about Cuba, in a way, but it is also about the difficulty in seeing Cuba for what it may be."[2] Gary Evans, in his chronicles of the National Film Board of Canada, called the film "one of the most intriguing documentaries of the period".[1] The film has been cited as an inspiration for director Michael Moore.[3]

References
  1. Evans, Gary (1991). In the national interest: a chronicle of the National Film Board of Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 195. ISBN 0-8020-6833-2. Retrieved 2009-09-25. joey smallwood fidel castro.
  2. Eder, Richard (November 14, 1975). "Waiting For Fidel (1975) Two Fresh and Funny Films on Indonesia and Cuba". New York Times. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
  3. Bernstein, Matthew (ed.) (2010). Michael Moore: Filmmaker, Newsmaker, Cultural Icon. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. p. 140. ISBN 978 0 472 07103 6.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
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