Press Kit

Revolution's
Daughter

A Feature Documentary

A Film by Thaddeus D. Matula

"Through the eyes of Fidel Castro's exiled daughter and Miami's vibrant Cuban-American arts community, a portrait emerges of identity, belonging, and the weight of personal revolution against revolutionary DNA."

Screenings

Festival Premieres

Next · Southwest Premiere

Dallas International Film Festival

Sunday, April 26, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Texas Theatre, Dallas

Past · World Premiere Documentary Achievement Award

Miami Film Festival, Official Competition

Friday, April 10, 2026
Koubek Theater, Miami

Past · Second Screening

Miami Film Festival

Saturday, April 18, 2026
FIU Rafael Diaz-Balart Law Building

Upcoming · International Premiere

Doc Edge Festival

Summer 2026
Auckland, New Zealand · Oscar-qualifying

In the Press

Coverage

Deadline — Matthew Carey

"Fidel Castro's Daughter Reflects On Cuba's Future At Miami Film Fest" · April 11, 2026 · ~1,000-word longform

ABC News

"Fidel Castro's daughter on her life as a dissident of his regime" · April 11, 2026 · Video

NBC Miami / NBC6

"Two voices with the Castro last name offer contrasting views on Cuba's future" · April 15, 2026

Telemundo 51 · Encuentro Virtual con Gloria Ordaz

Spanish-language broadcast · April 15, 2026

NTN24 · El Informativo

Interview with Karen Vega · April 17, 2026

El País (Spain)

Carla Gloria Colomé on Alina's return to public life · April 19, 2026

Libertad Digital (Spain)

"La revolución sirvió de pretexto para destruir Cuba" · April 20, 2026

Press Release

For Immediate Release · April 24, 2026

"Revolution's Daughter," a documentary by Thaddeus D. Matula, comes to the Dallas International Film Festival on April 26, 2026 at 4:30pm at the Texas Theatre.

Dallas, TX — Director Matula's new documentary Revolution's Daughter offers an intimate look at a nation in crisis. Alina Fernández grew up in Havana without knowing that Fidel Castro was her father. The film uses her life in exile as the narrative axis to explore the emotional, historical, and cultural weight Cubans have carried for generations. Years before escaping Cuba, Fernández began denouncing the situation on the island. Her testimony is the emotional heart of the documentary. The film features prominent voices in Cuban culture including Gloria Estefan, playwright Nilo Cruz, and painter José Bedia, among others. Their testimonies portray a culture fighting to keep its identity alive despite nearly 70 years of exile.

Revolution's Daughter is an essential document for understanding the urgency of Cuba's present moment and the resilience of its exile community, at a particularly timely moment.

Interviews with Thaddeus Matula available via press@revsdaughter.com and (945) 407-7146.
Interviews with Alina Fernández available via Zoom or in person starting April 25: (786) 399-6757.

The film is presented in English. It is available for media screening with Spanish subtitles upon request.  ·  Comunicado de prensa en español

Press Contact

Get in Touch

Email: press@revsdaughter.com

Phone: (945) 407-7146

For screener links, production stills, interview scheduling, and credentialing inquiries.

Spanish-language materials: Kit de Prensa · Español

Why Now

Cuba Is in Freefall

Rolling blackouts, food shortages, mass emigration. The world watched the 2021 uprising, then looked away. This film doesn't look away.

The urgency is the story. Cuba's infrastructure is collapsing in real time. Families are separated by an ocean and a regime that won't let go. The voices in this film are speaking now because the window to speak may not stay open.

This is not a historical documentary. It is a present-tense portrait of a community in crisis, told by the people living it.

"To me, the most important thing is that the conversation about Cuba is alive."

— Alina Fernández, Executive Producer

Director's Statement

From the Director

I often say of myself and my films: we are the lighthouse, not the light. The light shines through us so that others may see.

The stories find me. I can't force it. Half the time I'd be hard pressed to tell you why I'm doing what I'm doing. I'm just along for the ride.

With my film Brian & The Boz, if you knew who The Boz was, the 1980s college football star briefly turned cultural phenomenon, you thought you knew the story. I thought I knew the story. A jerk who got what was coming to him. When they first asked for my advice, I thought: what are these guys thinking? Then they asked me to direct, and every preconceived notion I had dropped. Immediately. Because I was being called. And when I stayed open, I found out he was so much more. That's what happens when you let the story arrive on its own terms. You carve away until you set the angel free.

With Alina Fernández, the headline writes itself: Castro's daughter. Three syllables that tell you everything and nothing.

And for some reason, she trusted me. Entrusted me with something sacred. Then others did too.

This film isn't a biography of Alina. It's a chorus. Revolution's Daughter gathers the voices of Cuban-Americans who carry exile in their bodies: artists, writers, mothers, musicians. People for whom the question of identity isn't theoretical. It's the air in the room at every family dinner, every phone call that can't be made, every song sung in a language that belongs to a place you can't go back to.

Gloria Estefan. Nilo Cruz. Alina herself. And voices you haven't heard yet, because no one thought to ask them.

I once questioned whether I had the right to tell a story of Cuban exiles when I am not myself Cuban, nor Latin, nor even from South Florida. I am a vessel. I go where I am called.

The Cuban-American story is one of the great unfinished American stories: a community that remade itself in exile while never fully letting go of what was taken. That tension between holding on and moving forward is the most human thing I know.

I've been making films about it my whole career. I just didn't know it until now.

Thaddeus D. Matula, Director

Key Subjects

The Voices

Alina Fernández

Alina Fernández

Fidel Castro's daughter. Escaped Cuba. Writer, activist, radio host. The film's anchor.

Gloria Estefan

Gloria Estefan

Grammy-winning artist. Cuban exile. Global icon.

Nilo Cruz

Nilo Cruz

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright. Cuban-born. Explores exile and identity through theater.

Jose Bedia

José Bedia

Internationally acclaimed Cuban-born artist. Exploring ritual, mythology, and cultural memory.

Pablo Cano

Pablo Cano

Master marionette-maker. Cuban-born artist preserving cultural traditions through puppetry.

Ricardo Pau-Llosa

Ricardo Pau-Llosa

Poet, art critic. Cuban-born voice on exile, identity, and Latin American art.

Margarita Cano

Margarita Cano

Painter, curator, and arts director at the Miami-Dade Public Library System for three decades. Her programs championed Latin American and African-American artists across South Florida.

Aurora Molina

Aurora Molina

Fiber artist. Cuban-born. Her work weaves exile, memory, and cultural identity.

Bonco Quiñongo

Bonco Quiñongo

Cuban comedian. Beloved for his iconic children's show in Cuba.

Dr. Lauren Peña

Dr. Lauren Peña

Scholar of Cuban-American identity and cultural memory. University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Jorge Duany

Dr. Jorge Duany

Former Director, Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University. Professor Emeritus of Anthropology.

Daniela Ferrara

Daniela Ferrara

Activist. Cuban-American voice of a new generation.

Synopsis

Alina Fernández grew up in Havana not knowing she was Fidel Castro's daughter, an open secret kept from her alone. Years before escaping Cuba and rebuilding her life in Miami, she made a choice that would define her: to speak out, and to keep speaking out. She calls it the only thing she ever really did, the one act she refused to shrink from. REVOLUTION'S DAUGHTER weaves Alina's defiance into the broader fabric of Miami's Cuban exile community, where artists and storytellers across generations carry the inheritance of revolution in their own ways, exploring identity, belonging, and what it costs to use your voice when silence would be easier.

Film Details

Runtime
85 minutes
Language
English, Spanish
Aspect Ratio
2.39:1
Year
2025
Country
United States
Category
Documentary Feature
Premiere Status
World Premiere

Credits

Film Credits

About the Director

Thaddeus D. Matula

Thaddeus D. Matula

Thaddeus D. Matula is a Peabody and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker. His ESPN 30 for 30 film Pony Excess won the Peabody Award and debuted as ESPN's most-watched documentary premiere, followed by his second entry in the series, the Emmy-winning Brian & The Boz. His work spans ESPN, the NFL, BBC, PBS, and The GRAMMYs.

His 2023 documentary Into the Spotlight earned 20+ international awards, including Best Texas Feature at Dallas International Film Festival and Best Documentary Feature at Sedona International Film Festival.

Revolution's Daughter marks Matula's move from American mythology to global stakes: the same instinct for finding the human fault lines inside larger-than-life stories, now turned toward a culture fighting to be heard. He is simultaneously finishing a feature documentary in an active war zone in Ukraine (SIRKO) and developing HOME & AWAY with the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Production Company

Double Life Films & Cinematula

DLF-CIMA

Production Stills

Press Downloads

Click any image to view full size. Download button available in lightbox.

Film Frames

Gloria Estefan
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Production Stills

On-set photography by Thaddeus D. Matula. Additional images available on request.

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Archival

Licensed archival images. For editorial reference only — outlets must license directly from the rights holder for publication.

Alina Fernández — Archival
Alina Fernández — Archival Download
New York Protest — Archival
New York Protest — Archival Download

Contact

Press Inquiries

Press Contact

Thaddeus D. Matula, Director
info@revsdaughter.com
(214) 865-9103

Website

revolutionsdaughter.film

revolutionsdaughter.film Miami Film Festival @thaddeusdmatula