Catalina Sandino Moreno will star as Alina Fernandez in historical drama “Castro’s Daughter” with shooting planned for March in Puerto Rico.
Sarah Siegel-Magness came on board in August to direct “Castro’s Daughter,” replacing “Il Postino” director Michael Radford. Siegel-Magness will also produce with Gary Magness through her Smokewood Entertainment banner, along with Mankind Entertainment ’s John Martinez O’Felan and Joe Lamy.
The screenplay, described as a coming-of-age story, was written by Bobby Moresco (“Crash”) and and Nilo Cruz, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Anna in the Tropics.”
Fernandez was born in 1956, three years before her father Fidel Castro took power. She fled Cuba as a dissident in 1993 disguised as a Spanish tourist and later wrote her memoir “Castro’s Daughter: An Exile’s Memoir of Cuba.”
The film will detail parts of her childhood and her escape that were not contained in the memoir. Producers are touting the project as containing elements similar to “Argo” and “Evita.”
Fernandez currently lives in Miami and speaks at colleges.
Sandino Moreno has a recurring role in FX’s “The Bridge.” She received a lead actress Oscar nomination for “Maria Full of Grace.”
Siegel-Magness and Magness produced “Precious.”
