Close Up Films - Finding Fidel The Journey of Erik Durschmied (2010)

Finding Fidel follows Durschmied as he returns to Cuba on the 50th Anniversary of the Revolution, retracing his original route to the mountains after an ailing Fidel has handed power over to his brother Raul and the island is waiting for change. Durschmied tells the true story behind his interviews with Fidel, and of the future dictator's consummate use of the media to control his message and create his image. The daring young cameraman brought Castro's message to the world just as Havana fell, and as a result his career took off. Journeying to hot spots around the world, he spent decades filming for the BBC, CBS and CBC in war zones from Vietnam and Cambodia to the Congo, Afghanistan and Iraq. He describes his work as a war cameraman, reflecting on the meaning and the burden of a career chronicling history.

Though he has witnessed many of the major events of our times, for Durschmied the interview on a mountaintop in Cuba remains the most meaningful. As he returns to Castro's camp in the Sierra Maestra, he finds an unexpected touchstone that marks the beginning and end of the journey.

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