[Ppnews] Cointelpro 101 in Havana

[Political Prisoner News]

Greetings from Havana, Cuba, where the Freedom Archives film  
Cointelpro 101 has just been shown twice, as part of the Festival  
Internacional de Nueve Cine Latinoamericano. This 33rd annual festival  
features all kinds of films from Cuba, the rest of Latin America, as  
well as some from Europe, Canada and the US.

As I said at both showings, we are honored to be a part of this  
festival, to express our solidarity with Cuba and particularly with  
the case of the Cuban 5, who are referred to in our film.

Both showings took place in the Teatro Infante, a theater that has  
recently been renovated. The first showing was on December 4th, the  
anniversary of the assassination of Panther leaders Fred Hampton and  
Mark Clark, which is also an important part of our film.

There was a packed audience including a number of Cuban and North  
American students, some from the program to educate students of color  
who receive subsidized education in medical school in Havana.

The audience also included other filmmakers and Cubans who had heard  
about the film or were curious about its content. The film was very  
well received as was evident in a discussion period which followed  
with myself and two of the film participants, Kathleen Cleaver and  
Laura Whitehorn. We emphasized the ongoing nature of  
counter-intelligence and counter-insurgency inside the US and  
worldwide as well as the need to free the numerous political prisoners  
in the US.

After both showings, smaller discussions continued outside the  
theater. All in all, we are very gratified by the reception of the  
film and are of course excited to be here in Havana and part of the  
festival.