Cuban dissident Doctor Oscar Elias Biscet is a 2007 Presidential Medal of Freedom winner, a Nobel Prize nominee and former Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience who was recently released from jail after spending over eight years in the gulags of the Castro brothers for his non-violent, pro-democracy, and pro-human rights activism. Before that internment, he had spent three years in the Castro’s prisons for those same activities. Since the press, both in the United States and internationally, largely ignores the struggles of Cuban dissidents against the Castro’s half-century totalitarian dictatorship, readers are hardly to blame if they’ve never heard of Dr. Biscet, but filmmaker Jordan Allott is working to change that. Jordan’s documentary about Dr. Biscet, “Oscar’s Cuba,” has done much to bring the plight of Dr. Biscet, and that of the Cuban people for whom he fights, to the attention of the world. I reviewed Oscar’s Cuba last March for Big Hollywood, and recently spoke to Jordan about Dr. Biscet.
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BIG HOLLYWOOD: Tell us about Dr. Biscet.
ALLOTT: Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet is President of the Lawton Foundation for Human Rights based in Havana, Cuba. He is a medical doctor and is considered by many to be Cuba’s leading opposition figure. Dr. Biscet was sentenced to 25 years in prison by the Castro regime for his non-violent promotion of human rights and democracy in Cuba. Oscar was recently released after spending about nine years in prison. Before this sentence, Dr. Biscet had spent three years in prison for a number of crimes including, Disrespect and Dishonoring National Symbols. Dr. Biscet only enjoyed 36 days of freedom in between these two unjust imprisonments.
BIG HOLLYWOOD: Have you spoken with Dr. Biscet, or with his wife, Elsa Morejon, since his release?
ALLOTT: I have not talked to Dr. Biscet directly since his release. I would like to give him some time to get adjusted to life outside of prison and I realize many people around the world are attempting to contact him. The day after his release Oscar watched our “Oscar’s Cuba” documentary and was very humbled by it. He liked the documentary very much. About six weeks ago I was able to have a quick three-minute phone conversation with Dr. Biscet from his prison outside Havana. During this conversation he sounded strong as he thanked the international community and human rights groups in the United States for the continued support.
BIG HOLLYWOOD: Obviously, you didn’t make this documentary with the blessing of the Castro brothers. Did you have any run-ins with the Castro’s repressive apparatus?
ALLOTT: I went to Cuba as a tourist and not a journalist. Because I went alone, had a relatively small amount of equipment and was careful about where I went and when, I was able to not raise too much suspicion. At one point I was stopped and questioned by the police in Santiago de Cuba in the eastern part of the country about 500 miles from Havana. The police were very angry as they overheard me asking questions about the Revolution to the locals. They even took my camera to review my recordings but, luckily, let me go without detaining me further. It was a wake-up call for me to act as discreetly as possible. A reminder that anything is possible in Cuba.
BIG HOLLYWOOD: Were you afraid when you were in Cuba? Did you perceive the Cuban people to be afraid of their government?
ALLOTT: I was cautious but believed I was on a mission. So, in a sense, I felt like no matter what happened, I was doing the right thing. At the same time, Cuba is a different world, cut off from the norms and international laws we sometimes assume will protect us. I most definitely believe that among the Cuban population there is a sense of both hopelessness and fear. I believe it has invaded the Cuban mind and soul for decades. The Cuban government’s number one concern is keeping power. Conversely, in most free countries the government’s first priority is to protect the individual rights of its citizens. In Cuba, any dissent is stamped out immediately and met with a disproportionate response.
BIG HOLLYWOOD: Something that I’ve heard from dissidents who have left the island, and that Dr. Biscet himself recently communicated by phone to some friends of mine at a luncheon here in LA, is that the regime is afraid of the dissidents. Obviously the regime has had fifty years to refine the art of instilling fear in others, but what we are hearing now is that the regime itself is afraid. Did you get a sense of this, of the fear the regime has of the Cuban people, while you were in Cuba?
ALLOTT: The sense I got was that the people of Cuba, although still fearing retaliation from the government, are always skeptical of what the government says. In the past, Cubans were told to fear the outside world, the United States, democracy, etc. This kept many people happy with the status quo. Now, because more people are informed, the average person doesn’t fear the outside world and therefore doesn’t fear change as much. This is an important variable, one that will make a transition to democracy much more possible.
BIG HOLLYWOOD: Could you tell us a little about the conditions that Dr. Biscet was kept in?
ALLOTT: Dr. Biscet has been kept in a maximum-security prison for his entire sentence. He has been forced to live among common criminals, except for those times when he has been put in solitary confinement. Solitary confinement in Cuba, for a political prisoner, can mean lack of basic necessities like light, clean water, human contact, etc. Unfortunately Cuba does not allow international human rights groups or medical groups into Cuba’s prisons to inspect the situation. The health of most political prisoners in Cuba deteriorates quickly.
BIG HOLLYWOOD: The repressive apparatus of the Castro brothers failed to break Dr. Biscet. What makes him so strong, what keeps him going?
ALLOTT: Dr. Biscet has always maintained that his faith in Christ is what keeps him strong. His faith allows him to feel peace in knowing that he is living out the mission God has given him.
BIG HOLLYWOOD: Why do you suppose the Castros released Dr. Biscet?
ALLOTT: It is difficult to say why they did this. I believe, as has always been the case, that the Castro government received some sort of economic concession from the international community. In any case, I believe that the international community needs to send a message to the Cuban government that Dr. Biscet should not be returned to prison, as we was nine years ago after only 36 days of freedom.
BIG HOLLYWOOD: You also interview Gorki Aguila in your film. Interesting guy. What can you tell us about him?
ALLOTT: In a very different way, Gorki, his band Porno Para Ricardo, and other young people have expressed their desire for a change in the system in Cuba. During a stay in prison years ago, Gorki was encouraged and inspired by his conversations with Dr. Biscet. There is a unity amongst the opposition in Cuba, despite the wide variety of individuals involved.
BIG HOLLYWOOD: How has “Oscar’s Cuba” been received?
ALLOTT: Oscar’s Cuba has been received extremely well at the over 25 screenings we have had in the United States, Europe, and Mexico. I am most excited about the number of non-Cubans we have touched with Dr. Biscet’s story and message.
BIG HOLLYWOOD: Where can people see the film, and if they can’t attend a screening, can they watch it online or buy a DVD?
ALLOTT: We have a website, www.oscarscuba.com where there is more information. We sell copies of the DVD, both in English and Spanish on the same DVD, on the website.
BIG HOLLYWOOD: “Oscar’s Cuba” screened in Washington, D.C. at the Czech Embassy, I believe, and the Prime Minister of Hungary was involved in nominating Dr. Biscet for the Nobel Prize. Have you seen a lot of interest in Dr. Biscet and your film from former Communist countries?
ALLOTT: Definitely. Many of these countries have been very supportive of the opposition in Cuba and specifically Dr. Biscet. The Czech and Hungarian Embassies have been very supportive of our documentary as well. There needs to be a greater sense of this solidarity amongst nations working for freedom and democracy.
BIG HOLLYWOOD: I happen to believe that “Oscar’s Cuba” contributed greatly to Dr. Biscet’s fame, his nomination for the Nobel Prize, and eventually his release. I don’t mean to put you on the spot, but what do you think?
ALLOTT: Many people have said this to me. But I believe every individual and organization has a role to play and these roles don’t completely change now that Dr. Biscet has been released. Others still remain unjustly imprisoned, Dr. Biscet could be returned to prison at any time and Cuba itself remains one giant island prison for those who live there. So the work continues. I look at the situation in a similar way as Dr. Biscet. God has a mission for all of us, once we feel we know what that mission is, we work at it tirelessly. When positive results come, thanks goes to Him!
BIG HOLLYWOOD: What led you to become a filmmaker?
ALLOTT: When I was in college I saw the ability film had to change people and to allow the filmmaker to really express himself. I was really drawn to that. Having studied political science and philosophy, I saw film as an opportunity to extend my inquiries into these areas in a visual way. Film can also be very therapeutic. Challenging and inspiring an audience is a bonus.
BIG HOLLYWOOD: What would you say to aspiring filmmakers who despair that film just doesn’t make a difference?
ALLOTT: I would say that film, as much as any other mode of communication or means of expression, has the chance to directly affect change and make a difference. I feel that compared with 20 years ago the opportunities for individuals to make a difference through film and get their work shown has changed greatly for the positive. Distribution is really the key. The changing trends in distribution has allowed individuals outside the mainstream to get their work in the hands of viewers who are looking for something different, something unique and inspiring.
BIG HOLLYWOOD: You’ve named your production company In Altum Productions. Could you tell us what that means?
ALLOTT: “In Altum” is Latin for “into the deep.” Jesus Christ commanded his disciples, and thus all of us, to “go out into the deep to become fishers of men.” Sometimes the world, like a large body of water, can be a scary and overwhelming place. But we are commanded to set aside our fear and overcome this challenge for Him and each other. This is one of the goals of In Altum Productions, to take on projects and subject matter that is challenging, both to the filmmakers involved and the audience.
BIG HOLLYWOOD: What is your next project?
ALLOTT: I am currently editing a new project focusing on the youth of Cuba, their involvement in the opposition, as well as their daily joys and sadness. It was shot in January of 2011 and has a “day in the life” type feel as we follow a number of young people during their daily activities. It has a very difficult look than Oscar’s Cuba, but should compliment it well. We hope to have it finished by mid-May, 2011.
BIG HOLLYWOOD: Anything else you’d like to say?
ALLOTT: No, I think I am all set. Thanks, Joe!
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