Waiting for Fidel is a documentary film

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 from the National Film Board of Canada

National Film Board of Canada

The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...

. Joey Smallwood

Joey Smallwood

Joseph Roberts "Joey" Smallwood, PC, CC was the main force that brought Newfoundland into the Canadian confederation, and became the first Premier of Newfoundland . As premier, he vigorously promoted economic development, championed the welfare state, and emphasized modernization of education and...

, former Premier

Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador

The Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador is the first minister, head of government and de facto chief executive for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Before 1964, the position's official title was Premier of Newfoundland...

 of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

; Newfoundland media mogul Geoff Stirling

Geoff Stirling

Geoffrey William Stirling is a Canadian businessman. Stirling, along with other members of his family, owns several media outlets in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador under the corporate brand Stirling Communications International...

; and director Michael Rubbo

Michael Rubbo

Michael Dattilo Rubbo is an Australian filmmaker who has written and directed over 50 films in documentary and fiction....

 documented their visit to Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 in an unsuccessful attempt to interview Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...

. Much of the film consists of the progressive-minded Smallwood and free-market supporter Stirling debating the effects of the Castro regime.

New York Times film reviewer Richard Eder

Richard Eder

Richard Eder was for 20 years variously a foreign correspondent, a film reviewer and the drama critic for the New York Times. Subsequently he was book critic for the Los Angeles Times, winning a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism and the National Book Critics Circle annual citation...

observed that "It is about Cuba, in a way, but it is also about the difficulty in seeing Cuba for what it may be." Gary Evans, in his chronicles of the National Film Board, called the film "one of the most intriguing documentaries of the period".