Tania Libre

Art and politics entwine in filmmaker Lynn Hershman Leeson’s Tania Libre, which draws on a controversial performance piece to open a window into an artist's career. In 2014, Tania Bruguera set out to restage a 2009 work in which she gave participants an uncensored platform to discuss freedom in Cuba. Two hours before the performance, she was arrested, faced criminal charges, and had her passport revoked. During her detention, activists around the world staged protests on her behalf. The filmmaker catches up with Bruguera upon her release as she travels to New York to meet with Dr. Frank Ochberg, a psychiatrist specializing in PTSD. Much of the film consists of a conversation between the two. In order to build a case against her, Bruguera tells Ochberg, the government described her as a traitor or dissident rather than an artist. "Truth," Dr. Ochberg notes, "is the enemy of the dictator." The director also looks at previous Bruguera projects, including 2009's Tatlin's Whisper #6 and 2012's Surplus Value, while Ochberg helps Bruguera to see how much she had in common with her late father, a member of the secret police who helped to bring Fidel Castro to power. Despite their political differences, he was proud of his daughter’s courage. Tania Libre is bookended with readings by Tilda Swinton from Bruguera's 2012 manifesto on art. "Artists," she says, "not only have the right to dissent, but the duty to do so." A provocative portrait of the artist, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)