"Che, The Argentine" Opens at Cuban Theaters

HAVANA, Cuba. The film "Che, The Argentine", by Steven Soderbergh will be playing as of Thursday at theaters throughout Cuba, after being presented in many countries, including the U.S., and during the 30th Latin American Film Festival in Havana last December.

Starring Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro, a chief promoter of the cinematographic project, the film will be screened over a week at movie and video theaters. Its second part, "Che The Guerrilla", will be premiered on May 14 and will be also on shown for a week.

Nearly a year after the world premiere of Che in the Cannes Festival, Soderbergh donated twenty copies of the two part production to the Cuban Film Institute (ICIAC). The donation was announced by the film's producer during the Latin American Film Festival in Havana in December, 2008.

The Puerto Rican actor, who won the Best Actor prize in Cannes for his portrayal of Che, traveled to the Cuban capital for the festival. He expressed his admiration for the Argentinean revolutionary and noted that he deserves respect for having being such a consistent man.

The roles of Raul Castro and Camilo Cienfuegos are played by Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro and Colombian Santiago Cabrera.

The two-part film, a U.S-France-Spain production, features the life of the revolutionary after his mythic trip through America masterly portrayed in "Motorcycle Diaries" by Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles, starring Mexican actor Gael García Bernal.

(Cinta "Che, el argentino" se estrena en cines de Cuba)