New Documentary on Che

Che Guevara died when he was only 39 and that too more than 40 years ago. His legend has not diminished and the many dimensions of his short life, whether as guerrilla fighter, writer or banker, still have the capacity to surprise. Che A New Man, a documentary by Argentinean Tristán Bauer on the hero of the Cuban revolution throws up yet more interesting facts.
Described by Camilio Guevara, Che’s eldest son, as the best documentary on his father, the two-hour work is the result of archive material that the Bolivian army mistakenly provided him after a call from the Argentinean embassy in La Paz in 1995. Bauer and his researchers were astounded and immediately began photographing the material and hiding some of it. They were asked to leave when the soldiers realised the mistake in giving them access to the 21 volumes which included his two passports, the books and notebooks in his backpack which have writings, still not made public, in blue green and red. Evo Morales, Bolivia’s President, handed the files to the documentary team over the objections of the army. Bauer was also helped by Che’s widow, Aleida March, who gave Bauer access to the family archive for the documentary.
The 50-year-old documentary maker says Che was a more profound and intense individual than what he had imagined before making the film. In a 8 mm film, Che is seen reunited with his father. Extra screenings had to be organised for the documentary at the recent Montreal festival, where it won the best documentary award as the people’s choice.