Cuban Government’s Uncertainty: Alina Fernández Revuelta Shares Her Thoughts on Her Father’s “Absurd” Revolution at the Miami Film Festival

For decades, many Cuban exiles have yearned for the collapse of the communist government established in 1959 by Fidel Castro. Notably, one of the most vocal critics of this regime is Alina Fernández Revuelta, one of Castro’s own daughters.

Fernández Revuelta fled Cuba in 1993, aided by a disguise and forged documents. Since then, she has become a passionate advocate for the liberties denied to Cuban citizens under her father and his successors. Her story and those of other émigrés are explored in the documentary Revolution’s Daughter, which premiered Friday night at the Miami Film Festival.

During a Q&A session after the premiere, Fernández Revuelta commented on the prolonged state of Cuba, saying, “We’ve been a bizarre experiment. We’ve been undergoing 67 years of ‘building the revolution,’ which is absurd… because ‘revolution’ is a short moment in history.” She added, “I think about what the French would have done if their revolution lasted 67 years. Nobody in France would have a head. So we are a phenomenon. We are something indescribable. We are absurd.”

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Revolution’s Daughter is directed and produced by Thaddeus D. Matula, with producing credits also going to John Martinez O’Felan, Joe Lamy, Allen Gilmer, and Javier Gonzalez. Fernández Revuelta holds the position of executive producer.

Director Thaddeus D. Matula (left) and Miami Film Festival programmer Alejandro Rios introduce the world premiere of ‘Revolution’s Daughter.’

While introducing the film, Matula recounted meeting Fernández Revuelta years earlier, stating, “Alina I had met a number of years ago and when the opportunity came along for a documentary to be done about her, she didn’t want to do it. But she was like, ‘I’ll do it if Thaddeus is doing it.’ And when that kind of a challenge or vote of confidence happens, then you had to do it.”

In a light moment during the Q&A, Fernández Revuelta praised Matula, saying, “Of course I asked for you specifically. You’re a genius. Everybody knows that.”

Cuban leader Fidel Castro’s daughter Alina Fernández Revuelta leads a protest against her father’s regime during the 50th anniversary of the United Nations.

The filmmaker stated that he worked closely with Fernández Revuelta on the documentary’s direction. “I listened to Alina. I was like, ‘What do you want this film to be?’” Matula recounted. “And she said very much exactly what she says in the film: ‘It’s not just about me. It’s not one voice, it’s about all of these voices.’”

Singer Gloria Estefan in ‘Revolution’s Daughter’

The documentary features perspectives from various Cuban émigrés, including singer Gloria Estefan, poet Ricardo Pau-Llosa, artist José Bedia, the late scholar Margarita Cano, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz, and actor-comedian Bonco Quiñongo. They each reflect on the richness of Cuban culture and the lost opportunities faced by the nation due to political repression under Fernández Revuelta’s father.

The premiere arrives at a critical juncture for the Cuban government, which may be closer to collapse than it has been since 1959.

‘Revolution’s Daughter’

As reported by the New York Times in February, “[t]he country’s economy is in free fall, its electric grid is failing, millions of its citizens have left and the Cuban government is facing off against perhaps its most menacing foe: President Trump.”

The situation took a significant turn in early January when the Trump administration seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, whose regime had been supplying vital oil shipments to Cuba. The cessation of this support has plunged Cuba into a state of crisis, severely affecting its energy supply. Although a recent Russian oil shipment reached Cuba, analysts suggest it will only sustain the country for a limited time.

A man walks on a street during a blackout in Havana on January 25, 2026.

Fernández Revuelta commended U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a member of Trump’s cabinet, for his attention to Cuban affairs. “It’s the first time that somebody in an administration really pays attention to what’s going on in Cuba. I think we owe that to Marco Rubio, obviously,” she remarked. “What’s going on in Cuba is well known. It’s impossible to hide. So, a lot of people are more conscious of what’s going on there, and we need to keep praying the message.”

Revolution’s Daughter will screen again at the Miami Film Festival on April 18 and will later be showcased at various film festivals across the U.S. and globally. Producer Allen Gilmer announced plans for a fictionalized account of Fernández Revuelta’s life, introducing two actresses cast to portray her in an upcoming biopic.

“We have a biopic and then I thought that the documentary touch was one in which we really got the heartfelt story of what Cuba really meant, rather than just a story of a person that was leaving,” Gilmer explained. “If you were to take just the GDP that it created and the artistic achievements and all the arts and put them back into Cuba, Cuba would be the most successful country in Latin America.”