EXCLUSIVE: Here’s your first footage of Al Pacino in political thriller Killing Castro, which is getting its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The feature “reimagines Fidel Castro’s 1960 Harlem stay as a charged encounter between surveillance and solidarity. As converging forces close in, a young translator is pulled into a tightening web of power and proximity.”
Diego Boneta stars as Fidel Castro. Al Pacino plays a CIA operative orchestrating a covert plan to eliminate the Cuban revolutionary. In the clip above, Pacino’s character is in conversation with notorious mobsters Sam Giancana (played by Paul Ben-Victor) and Johnny Roselli (played by Logan Marshall-Green).
Eif Rivera is directing the movie, which also stars Xolo Maridueña, KiKi Layne, Ron Livingston, Alexander Ludwig, Nicole Beharie, and Kendrick Sampson. Script comes from Leon Hendrix and Thomas DeGrezia. Producers are Brad Feinstein and Christina Weiss Lurie.
The full synopsis reads: “Set against one of the most volatile flashpoints of the Cold War, Killing Castro unfolds in 1960 New York, where a convergence of forces — including the CIA, FBI and the Mafia — begins to close in on Cuban leader Fidel Castro following his arrival at the United Nations. Featuring Al Pacino as a CIA operative orchestrating a covert plan to eliminate Castro, the film traces a city drawn into a tightening web of political tension and surveillance. When Castro (Diego Boneta) unexpectedly relocates to Harlem’s Hotel Theresa at the invitation of Malcolm X (Kendrick Sampson), the pressure electrifies the global stage. A young translator (Xolo Maridueña), finds himself caught between duty and proximity, his growing curiosity complicating the boundaries between surveillance and trust, while a hotel worker (KiKi Layne) becomes an unwilling participant in a widening political web.”
Diego Boneta told Deadline: “What drew me to Killing Castro was its exploration of a pivotal moment that shaped the Cuba we know today. The physical transformation, the training, and the preparation this role demanded – it was the most challenging thing I’ve ever done but also the most rewarding. The dream team that came together to bring it to life made it all worth it. I’m so proud to share it for the first time at Tribeca.”
Director Eif Rivera added: “I am honored to tell such an important story, a piece of history that was largely unknown. The moment I read this script I was completely captivated. I grew up not far from the Hotel Theresa, passing it hundreds of times never knowing its significance. Malcolm X, Fidel Castro, the FBI, the CIA, the mafia, all converging in Harlem. It’s the kind of story that feels bigger than fiction, and I cannot wait for audiences to experience it for the first time.”
Producer Brad Feinstein commented: “Killing Castro has been a nine year journey for me. It’s a story I always knew would fit perfectly into the Romulus Entertainment catalog, the kind of compelling, diverse story we exist to tell. The cast and crew that came together to bring it to life exceeded every expectation I had . I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve made, of Eif’s incredible work, and I couldn’t imagine a better stage for its world premiere than Tribeca.”
