El caso Padilla / The Padilla Affair (2022)
Director: Pavel Giroud
Country: Cuba | Spain
Release Year: 2022
Genre: Documentary | History
Language: Spanish
Runtime: 78 min
Synopsis: Following the publication of his collection of critical poems in 1971, Cuban poet Heberto Padilla is imprisoned by the communist regime. Before his release, the authorities stage a show of self-criticism where Padilla admits to being a counterrevolutionary and incriminates other artists — including his own wife. This incident, dubbed “the Padilla affair,” saw several intellectuals worldwide — including Jean Paul Sartre, Julio Cortázar and Susan Sontag — criticize a government they had previously supported. Now, for the first time, documentarian Pavel Giroud unearths stunning, 50-year-old archival footage of the incident to give audiences a peek into a watershed moment in the Cuban Revolution.
Awards
Miami Film Festival – Best Documentary, 2023