Killing Castro Movie Q&A Director Eif Rivera, writer Thomas DeGrezia & producer Brad Feinstein

I attended the Tribeca Film Festival 2026 screening and Q&A for Killing Castro, the political thriller directed by Eif Rivera, written by Thomas DeGrezia and Leon Hendrix, and produced by Brad Feinstein and Christina Weiss Lurie. The film explores a tense and fictionalized version of real historical events surrounding Fidel Castro’s 1960 visit to New York City for the United Nations, where political forces including the FBI, CIA, and organized crime intersect in a high-stakes web of surveillance, suspicion, and power. Starring a powerhouse ensemble including Al Pacino, Diego Boneta, Xolo Maridueña, KiKi Layne, Ron Livingston, Nicole Beharie, Logan Marshall-Green, Alexander Ludwig, Kendrick Sampson, Titus Welliver, Paul Ben-Victor, and Diego Calva, the film blends historical drama with political thriller tension, reimagining Cold War-era New York through multiple intersecting perspectives. This video features the full Q&A following the Tribeca screening, where the director, producer , and one of the writers discuss the film’s development, historical inspiration, character work, and the challenges of balancing fact with cinematic storytelling. Here are more details from Tribeca’s website World Premiere Killing Castro Spotlight Narrative Feature Narrative | United States | 90 MINUTES | English Drama, New York, Thriller Political thriller Killing Castro reimagines Fidel Castro’s 1960 Harlem stay as a charged encounter between surveillance and solidarity. As converging forces close in, a young translator is pulled into a tightening web of power and proximity. Set against one of the most volatile flashpoints of the Cold War, Killing Castro unfolds in 1960 New York, where a convergence of forces — including the CIA, FBI and the Mafia — begins to close in on Cuban leader Fidel Castro following his arrival at the United Nations. Featuring Al Pacino as a CIA operative orchestrating a covert plan to eliminate Castro, the film traces a city drawn into a tightening web of political tension and surveillance. When Castro (Diego Boneta) unexpectedly relocates to Harlem’s Hotel Theresa at the invitation of Malcolm X (Kendrick Sampson), the pressure electrifies the global stage. A young translator (Xolo Maridueña), finds himself caught between duty and proximity, his growing curiosity complicating the boundaries between surveillance and trust, while a hotel worker (KiKi Layne) becomes an unwilling participant in a widening political web. Blending political thriller with historical drama, Killing Castro stages a charged encounter between Black liberation politics and Cold War geopolitics. Through its interwoven perspectives — from agents of surveillance to those caught within its reach — the film reimagines a fleeting historical moment as a site where global tensions are negotiated through intimate encounters. Anchored by a powerhouse ensemble, including Nicole Beharie, Logan Marshall-Green and Alexander Ludwig, and propelled by mounting psychological and political stakes, this is a tense, character-driven portrait of a world in which the lines between allegiance, belief and coercion are constantly shifting.—Meiyi Liu Cast & Credits Directed by Eif Rivera Producer Brad Feinstein Christina Weiss Lurie Writer Thomas DeGrezia Leon Hendrix Cast Al Pacino Diego Boneta Xolo Maridueña KiKi Layne Ron Livingston Alexander Ludwig Nicole Beharie Kendrick Sampson If you enjoy my content, I’d love if you’d subscribe—it really helps me grow this platform ⬇️ https://youtube.com/@thedisabilityall... 💕 You can also shop some of my disability-friendly + creator favorites here: https://www.amazon.com/shop/thedisabi... (I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you—thank you for supporting my work 💕 Thank you for being here ✨ ‪@tribeca‬ ‪@nycmayorsofficeofmediaente1469‬ ‪@harlemhype‬ #Movie #Film #Cinema #Drama #AlPacino #NewMovie #Q&A #QandA #KillingCastro #MalcolmX #Cuba #Harlem #HotelTheresa #FilmMaking #Director #Producer #Writer #Interview #Tribeca2026 #Tribeca #TribecaFilmFestival #NewYork #EifRivera #NewYorker #Latino #ColdWar #BlackLiberation