Deadline is exclusively reporting that Ana Villafañe has been cast in the lead role as Fidel Castro’s daughter and anti-communism activist, Alina Fernandez, for the upcoming indie film Alina of Cuba: La Hija Rebelde.
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Alina of Cuba: La Hija Rebelde is based on the true story of Alina Fernandez, a Cuban-American immigrant and human rights advocate whose birth was the result of a passionate love affair between Fidel Castro and Natalia ‘Naty’ Revuelta. Revuelta, a Cuban-born socialite, sacrificed her and her physician husband’s personal belongings and finances to help fund the revolution.
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Alina Fernandez learned of her connection to Fidel Castro at the age of ten, when after years of secret visits to her home, she was finally told that ‘El Comandante’ was her biological father. Alina and her mother stayed in Cuba after the former’s stepfather and her sister fled to the U.S after his medical clinic was shut down. Alina eventually become one of Castro’s most outspoken critics. She was arrested on more than one occasion for trying to leave and classified as a dissident forbidden to travel outside of Cuba. She defected to Spain in 1993 and later moved permanently to Miami.
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The film, formerly known as Castro’s Daughter, is written by Jose Rivera and Nilo Cruz, with Miguel Bardem attached to direct. The film is produced by John Martinez O’Felan, Joe Lamy, Celine Rattray, Trudie Styler, and executive produced by Allen Gilmer of Redbud Studios.
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The film will commence production this summer in Cartagena, Colombia.
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