Night Is Not Eternal

As "Night Is Not Eternal" (2024 release; 91 min) opens, we go to "Cuba 2012" and are introduced to Rosa Paya, a pro-democracy activist who is continuing the work of her father Oswaldo Paya. In a parallel story, we are in "Ghuangzhou, China, 2013" where the film makers document protests of ordinary Chinese citizens, demanding freedom. At this point we are less than 10 minutes into the mocie.

Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from highly regarded writer-producer-director Nanfu Wang ("One Child Nation".). Here she brings the story of how she met Maria Paya a number of years ago at a film festival. Struck by the apparent parallels between what Paya was trying to do and what Nanfu was advocating, she decides to follow Paya and document her. Without disclosing any further details, this leads to some surprising moments. Apart from the Paya/Nanfu story, the movie provides yet another peak into what daily life in Cuba is like under the ruthless communist dictatorship.

"Night Is Not Eternal" recently premiered on HBO and then started streaming on Max, where I caught this the other night. If you are familiar with Nanfu's earlier work, or are interested in what life in Cuba is like, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.