# Killing Castro (film)
**Killing Castro** is a 2026 American political thriller directed by Eif Rivera in his feature debut, dramatizing a plot to assassinate [Fidel Castro](https://www.edgepedia.org/fidel-castro) during his September 1960 visit to New York for the [United Nations General Assembly](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-nations-general-assembly). The film imagines the CIA, FBI, and Mafia converging on Harlem's Hotel Theresa, where Castro stayed at [Malcolm X](https://www.edgepedia.org/malcolm-x)'s invitation after being turned away by Manhattan hotels.[1](https://tribecafilm.com/festival/archive/killing-castro-2026) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/killing_castro) It premiered at the 2026 Tribeca Festival on June 9, 2026.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30057115/releaseinfo/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director | Eif Rivera, in his feature film debut[4](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/diego-boneta-al-pacino-kiki-195800677.html) |
| Writers | Thomas DeGrezia and Leon Hendrix (Tribeca and IMDb credits); Colin Bateman and Leon Hendrix appear on production-list and New Jersey state credits[1](https://tribecafilm.com/festival/archive/killing-castro-2026) • [5](https://www.nj.gov/njfilm/assets/pdf/annual/NJ-motion-picture-annual-report-2023.pdf) |
| Producers | Brad Feinstein (Romulus Entertainment) and Christina Weiss Lurie (Fourth and Twenty-Eight Films); Romulus also financed[4](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/diego-boneta-al-pacino-kiki-195800677.html) |
| Principal cast | Al Pacino, Diego Boneta, Xolo Maridueña, KiKi Layne, Ron Livingston, Alexander Ludwig, Nicole Beharie, Kendrick Sampson[1](https://tribecafilm.com/festival/archive/killing-castro-2026) |
| Filming | New Jersey locations including Newark, Paterson, Elizabeth, and Linden, November–December 2023[5](https://www.nj.gov/njfilm/assets/pdf/annual/NJ-motion-picture-annual-report-2023.pdf) |
| Premiere | World premiere, Tribeca Festival, June 9, 2026, Spotlight Narrative section[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30057115/releaseinfo/) • [1](https://tribecafilm.com/festival/archive/killing-castro-2026) |
| Runtime | 90 minutes per Tribeca and Rotten Tomatoes; IMDb lists 1h 53m and the Morelia festival lists 101 minutes[1](https://tribecafilm.com/festival/archive/killing-castro-2026) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/killing_castro) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30057115/) • [7](https://moreliafilmfest.com/peliculas/killing-castro) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and historical basis
The story is set in September 1960, when Fidel Castro ([Diego Boneta](https://www.edgepedia.org/diego-boneta)) arrives in New York to deliver his first speech to the United Nations shortly after the [Cuban Revolution](https://www.edgepedia.org/cuban-revolution). Met with hostility at his original hotel, he accepts Malcolm X's (Kendrick Sampson) invitation to stay at the Hotel Theresa in Harlem, where the local African American community welcomes him.[4](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/diego-boneta-al-pacino-kiki-195800677.html) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/killing_castro) Unsure of his intentions, the FBI, CIA, and Mafia attempt to eliminate him by any means necessary.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/killing_castro)
[Al Pacino](https://www.edgepedia.org/al-pacino) plays a CIA operative orchestrating the covert plan to eliminate Castro.[1](https://tribecafilm.com/festival/archive/killing-castro-2026) The film's central perspective belongs to a young translator ([Xolo Maridueña](https://www.edgepedia.org/xolo-mariduena)) caught between duty and proximity, whose growing curiosity blurs the line between surveillance and trust, while a hotel worker ([KiKi Layne](https://www.edgepedia.org/kiki-layne)) becomes an unwilling participant in the widening political web.[1](https://tribecafilm.com/festival/archive/killing-castro-2026) Screen Anarchy's review identifies the translator's character as Loenel, an undercover FBI informant already at the hotel to spy on Malcolm X, whose motivations are challenged by Castro's arrival.[8](https://screenanarchy.com/amp/2026/06/tribeca-2026-review-killing-castro-neat-thriller-based-on-incredible-real-story.html) • [9](https://nextbestpicture.com/killing-castro/)
The festival program frames the film as blending political thriller with historical drama, staging an encounter between Black liberation politics and Cold War geopolitics, and reimagining Castro's Harlem stay as a meeting of surveillance and solidarity.[1](https://tribecafilm.com/festival/archive/killing-castro-2026) Reviewers note that the film is speculative rather than documentary: the assassination attempt it depicts failed, and Castro lived another 56 years after the 1960 visit.[10](https://stephensilver.substack.com/p/five-features-from-tribeca-2026-killing)
## Production
In December 2023, the film was unveiled with a cast including Al Pacino, Diego Boneta, Xolo Maridueña, KiKi Layne, Alexander Ludwig, Ron Livingston, Kendrick Sampson, Nicole Beharie, Logan Marshall-Green, and [Titus Welliver](https://www.edgepedia.org/titus-welliver), while Romulus Entertainment provided the funding.[4](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/diego-boneta-al-pacino-kiki-195800677.html) [Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) took place in New Jersey, with the state's 2023 production list recording shoots in Elizabeth, Linden, Little Falls, Newark, Paterson, Totowa, and West Orange in November and December 2023.[5](https://www.nj.gov/njfilm/assets/pdf/annual/NJ-motion-picture-annual-report-2023.pdf) During the 2023 [SAG-AFTRA](https://www.edgepedia.org/sag-aftra) strike, the production signed an interim agreement under the signatory Hotel Theresa Production Inc. on November 14, 2023.[11](https://www.sagaftra.org/sites/default/files/sa_documents/Productions%20Approved%20and%20Signed%20to%20Interim%20Agreements%20-%20Members%20May%20Work%20on%20These.pdf)
New Jersey's film tax credit activity report records the production under Hotel Theresa Production Inc. with a qualified spend of $13,086,713 and a tax credit of $4,633,319, filed for Paterson with an activity date of September 20, 2024.[12](https://www.njeda.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Film-Tax-Credit-Activity-Report_11_8_2024.pdf) Production tracking listed the film as completed as of April 28, 2026, with production companies Hotel Theresa Production, Romulus Entertainment, and Tempo Productions.[13](https://www.productionlist.com/production/killing-castro) The crew included cinematographer Zak Mulligan, composer Peter Adams, editor Andrew Mondshein, and production designer Bill Boes.[14](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30057115/fullcredits/) • [7](https://moreliafilmfest.com/peliculas/killing-castro)
## Release and reception
*Killing Castro* had its world premiere at the 2026 Tribeca Festival on June 9, 2026, in the Spotlight Narrative section.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30057115/releaseinfo/) • [1](https://tribecafilm.com/festival/archive/killing-castro-2026) Fandango lists a theatrical release date of June 9, 2026.[15](https://www.fandango.com/killing-castro-247902/movie-overview)
Critical response was mixed. Next Best Picture gave the film 4/10, calling it a politically and narratively cluttered picture that recycles earlier political thrillers, while praising the chemistry between Diego Boneta and Kendrick Sampson.[9](https://nextbestpicture.com/killing-castro/) FilmBook rated it 6/10, finding good performances weighed down by an attempt to please crowds, and noting that Pacino's screen time is minimal.[16](https://film-book.com/film-review-killing-castro-an-intriguing-yet-slight-look-at-a-bizarre-historical-scenario-tribeca-2026/) Screen Anarchy judged it an entertaining rather than thought-provoking thriller that stumbles in its resolution, with Boneta's charismatic Castro as its standout.[8](https://screenanarchy.com/amp/2026/06/tribeca-2026-review-killing-castro-neat-thriller-based-on-incredible-real-story.html) The Knockturnal criticized the film's limited budget and scope, writing that it never dives deep enough into the politics or personalities at play.[17](https://theknockturnal.com/killing-castro-a-fascinating-history-in-a-muddled-script/) On Rotten Tomatoes the film held one critics' review, graded B, describing it as dizzyingly entertaining conjecture and a taut look at the period before the [Cuban Missile Crisis](https://www.edgepedia.org/cuban-missile-crisis).[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/killing_castro)
## References
1. [Killing Castro, 2026 Tribeca Festival](https://tribecafilm.com/festival/archive/killing-castro-2026)
2. [Killing Castro, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/killing_castro)
3. [Killing Castro (2026) Release info, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30057115/releaseinfo/)
4. [Diego Boneta, Al Pacino, KiKi Layne And Xolo Maridueña Among Those Starring In 'Killing Castro', Deadline via Yahoo Entertainment](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/diego-boneta-al-pacino-kiki-195800677.html)
5. [2023 Comprehensive Production List, New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission](https://www.nj.gov/njfilm/assets/pdf/annual/NJ-motion-picture-annual-report-2023.pdf)
6. [Killing Castro (2026), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30057115/)
7. [Killing Castro, Morelia International Film Festival](https://moreliafilmfest.com/peliculas/killing-castro)
8. [Tribeca 2026 Review: KILLING CASTRO, Screen Anarchy](https://screenanarchy.com/amp/2026/06/tribeca-2026-review-killing-castro-neat-thriller-based-on-incredible-real-story.html)
9. ["KILLING CASTRO" Review, Next Best Picture](https://nextbestpicture.com/killing-castro/)
10. [Five features from Tribeca 2026, Stephen Silver, Substack](https://stephensilver.substack.com/p/five-features-from-tribeca-2026-killing)
11. [Productions Approved and Signed to Interim Agreements, SAG-AFTRA](https://www.sagaftra.org/sites/default/files/sa_documents/Productions%20Approved%20and%20Signed%20to%20Interim%20Agreements%20-%20Members%20May%20Work%20on%20These.pdf)
12. [Film Tax Credit Activity Report, New Jersey Economic Development Authority](https://www.njeda.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Film-Tax-Credit-Activity-Report_11_8_2024.pdf)
13. [Killing Castro, Production List](https://www.productionlist.com/production/killing-castro)
14. [Killing Castro (2026) Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30057115/fullcredits/)
15. [Killing Castro, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/killing-castro-247902/movie-overview)
16. [Film Review: KILLING CASTRO, FilmBook](https://film-book.com/film-review-killing-castro-an-intriguing-yet-slight-look-at-a-bizarre-historical-scenario-tribeca-2026/)
17. ['Killing Castro' a Fascinating History in a Muddled Script, The Knockturnal](https://theknockturnal.com/killing-castro-a-fascinating-history-in-a-muddled-script/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Documentary and biographical films › Biographical films of political, royal, military, and criminal figures › Political and revolutionary biopics*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license