Stone’s Castro film on hold

Oliver Stone’s documentary on Fidel Castro, due to be shown next month, has been postponed indefinitely by HBO.

Stone spent three days with Castro in February 2002 trying to “portray the human figure.”

But HBO, which had promoted “Commandante” as an “unflinching portrait of the famous icon,” said Stone’s interpretation was undercut by the Cuban leader’s recent crackdown.

“In light of recent alarming events in the country, the film seems somewhat dated or incomplete,” said HBO spokeswoman Lana Iny. At a Thursday news conference, she said that HBO is “talking to Oliver about going back to Cuba” to pose additional questions.

Government and rights groups around the world have condemned Cuba in recent weeks for its crackdown on the opposition, followed by the executions last week of three men convicted of hijacking a ferry filled with passengers trying to get to the U.S.

The Cuban American National Foundation praised HBO’s move. “To have provided a platform for Castro to try to whitewash his sins would have been an unforgivable insult to the thousands of men and women who suffer in his tropical gulag,” said Jorge Santos, chairman of the Cuban exile group.