{"id":8069,"date":"2023-04-27T09:14:06","date_gmt":"2023-04-27T09:14:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/?p=8069"},"modified":"2023-04-27T09:26:48","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T09:26:48","slug":"filmaker-gary-lennon-on-his-new-documentary-castros-spies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/filmaker-gary-lennon-on-his-new-documentary-castros-spies\/","title":{"rendered":"Filmaker Gary Lennon on his new documentary ‘Castro’s Spies’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Filmmaker Gary Lennon joined Pat in the studio to discuss making this new documentary \u2018\u2019Castro\u2019s Spies\u2019\u2019 which will also be shown in cinemas around the country starting with the Light house in Dublin.Play interview here<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SYNOPSIS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IFTA-nominated Castro\u2019s Spies tells the story of an elite group of Cuban intelligence agents sent undercover to the U.S. in the 1990s. From their recruitment, training and eventual capture on U.S. soil; this film peers into a secret world of false identities, love affairs and betrayal. Using never seen before footage from the Cuban Film Institute\u2019s archive and first-hand testimony from the people at the heart of this story, Castro\u2019s Spies gives a rare glimpse into the shadowy world of a spy \u2013 where the stakes are life and death.The film features real FBI surveillance footage of the spies in action and never-before-seen colour archive of the Cuban Revolution. The \u2018Cuban Five\u2019 trial remains the largest multiple defendant espionage case ever prosecuted in the U.S. The most serious charges were conspiracy to commit espionage and conspiracy to commit murder. The arrest of the Cuban 5 and other members of the \u201cWasp Network\u201d was seen as a major victory against Cuban espionage in Florida by both the US authorities and the groups they infiltrated. The filmmakers confirm they had un-restricted access to the Cuban Film Institute\u2019s archive, saying \u2018Immersing ourselves in the world of a Cuban Spy cell was an exhilarating process.\u2019Co-directors Gary Lennon and Ollie Aslin (in his directorial debut) summarised the film saying: \u201cWe have set out to make a film that gets the rare opportunity to peer into a spy\u2019s clandestine and dangerous world. Ultimately, we want to tell this story to understand how far someone is willing to go for what they truly believe in; and with this pose the question, how far would we all be willing to go?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This screening in the Light house <\/a>will be followed by an in-person Q&A with Director Gary Lennon, 30th April 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Filmmaker Gary Lennon joined Pat in the studio to discuss making this new documentary \u2018\u2019Castro\u2019s Spies\u2019\u2019 which will also be shown in cinemas around the country starting with the Light house in Dublin.Play interview here <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101011,"featured_media":8076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[42,41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-documentaries","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3137,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/castros-spies-65th-cork-international-film-festival-2020\/","url_meta":{"origin":8069,"position":0},"title":"Castro’s Spies-65th Cork International Film Festival 2020","author":"Editorial Team","date":"November 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A world premiere of a documentary by Irish filmmakers \u00a0Ollie Aslin and Gary Lennon. Castro\u2019s Spies\u00a0tells the story of the Cuban Five. They where intelligence agents sent to Florida to infiltrate violent anti-revolutionary Cuban-American organisations with a history of terrorism against their former homeland. If anyone has watched Wasp Network\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/news\/featured\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-09-at-15.47.28.png?fit=741%2C458&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-09-at-15.47.28.png?fit=741%2C458&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-09-at-15.47.28.png?fit=741%2C458&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-09-at-15.47.28.png?fit=741%2C458&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6348,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/all-spies-are-not-james-bond\/","url_meta":{"origin":8069,"position":1},"title":"\u2018All spies are not James Bond\u2019","author":"Editorial Team","date":"May 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The award winning documentary\u00a0Castro\u2019s Spies, the story of five Cuban intelligent agents sent to the United States to prevent acts of terrorism, will have its North American release on Friday, May 13, from Gravitas Ventures. The Cuban Five garnered international attention following their unjust imprisonment in the United States for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/news\/featured\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/CastrosSpies_A1PosterPortrait_web2.webp?fit=750%2C430&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/CastrosSpies_A1PosterPortrait_web2.webp?fit=750%2C430&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/CastrosSpies_A1PosterPortrait_web2.webp?fit=750%2C430&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/CastrosSpies_A1PosterPortrait_web2.webp?fit=750%2C430&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3156,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/castros-spies-a-very-irish-perspective\/","url_meta":{"origin":8069,"position":2},"title":"Castro\u2019s Spies – A very Irish perspective","author":"Editorial Team","date":"November 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/qPQYGWtUl8M Castro\u2019s Spies is not just a very good film about Cuba, it is an important milestone in Irish documentary filmmaking. Taking the kind of insight normally reserved for Irish subject matter, Ollie Aslin and Garry Lennon have got inside a story to reveal truths that others have never even\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Opinions"","block_context":{"text":"Opinions","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/cuba\/opinions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-09-at-15.47.28.png?fit=741%2C458&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-09-at-15.47.28.png?fit=741%2C458&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-09-at-15.47.28.png?fit=741%2C458&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2020-11-09-at-15.47.28.png?fit=741%2C458&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5940,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/a-year-in-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":8069,"position":3},"title":"A Year in Review","author":"Editorial Team","date":"February 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A Record of Cuba Support Group Ireland\u2019s activities in 2021 We started the year in a severe pandemic lockdown with a complete ban on all demonstrations and meetings outside the home. Even exercise outside the home was restricted to maximum essential travel limits. We had to innovate and adapt our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/news\/featured\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/1F396532-A8AD-4694-B3D9-6B2D4B2661AC-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/1F396532-A8AD-4694-B3D9-6B2D4B2661AC-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/1F396532-A8AD-4694-B3D9-6B2D4B2661AC-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/1F396532-A8AD-4694-B3D9-6B2D4B2661AC-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/1F396532-A8AD-4694-B3D9-6B2D4B2661AC-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1903,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/american-criticism-of-cuba-on-human-rights-is-total-hypocrisy-given-u-s-history-of-terrorizing-the-island\/","url_meta":{"origin":8069,"position":4},"title":"American criticism of Cuba on human rights is total hypocrisy, given U.S. history of terrorizing the island","author":"Editorial Team","date":"December 30, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The U.S. has tried to crush Cuba in a campaign of terror for over 50 years and tortured detainees at Guant\u00e1namo NOVEMBER 30, 2016 The former Cuban president, known to his countrymen as El Comandante, survived 10 U.S. presidential administrations \u2014 and also hundreds of assassination attempts by the CIA.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cuba"","block_context":{"text":"Cuba","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/cuba\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/guantanamo_detainees.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/guantanamo_detainees.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/guantanamo_detainees.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/guantanamo_detainees.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/guantanamo_detainees.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2850,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/fidel-castros-1960-speech-to-the-un-did-more-for-anti-colonial-struggle-than-the-uns-hyperbole-about-eradicating-colonialism\/","url_meta":{"origin":8069,"position":5},"title":"Fidel Castro\u2019s 1960 Speech to the UN Did More for Anti-Colonial Struggle Than the UN\u2019s Hyperbole About \u2018Eradicating Colonialism\u2019","author":"Editorial Team","date":"October 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This September marked 60 years since Fidel Castro\u2019s first address to the United Nations, in which he delivered a scathing and truthful critique about the imperialist philosophy of war. 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