How a revolutionary became a rock star

A film looks at the man and moment that made a leader immortal, writes Gabriel Wilder.

It is one of the world's most reproduced images, spanning continents and generations, yet few know of the hand that snapped it. Now a film documents the origins of the iconic picture of Che Guevara - reprinted on millions of posters and T-shirts since it was taken in 1960 - and the photographer who created it.

"There is a reason why this image is still so popular," says Hector Cruz Sandoval, the director of Kordavision.

"The look is tremendous: those fiery eyes and the long hair, even what he was wearing was kind of cool; but [mostly] it's that internal fiery look of conviction."

Cruz Sandoval's film, which is screening as part of the second Sydney Latin American Film Festival, portrays the life of Alberto Diaz Gutierrez - "Korda" - a photographer living and working in a country at a time of seismic change.

It opens with news footage of the explosion of the French ship La Coubre at the Havana docks on March 4, 1960. (The film portrays it as an act of sabotage; like much of Cuba's history, this has been disputed.) More than 100 Cubans were killed and a memorial service was held the next day, with Fidel Castro delivering a speech while various leading lights of the new government and celebrities, including Guevara, Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, looked on.

"I was taking photos of everything during the ceremony," Korda tells Cruz Sandoval's camera, as he stands on the street where the service was held more than four decades ago. "But you couldn't see Che. He was in the second row. Suddenly he peered out to the edge of the platform and looked at the crowd that filled the street."

Korda clicked the shutter and an icon was born.

The newspaper that had sent him to cover the event didn't publish the image but Korda liked it and made a print for his wall. In 1967 he gave it to the radical Italian publisher Giangiacomo Feltrinelli for use on the cover of an edition of Guevara's diaries. Feltrinelli had posters made and these were used by students in the demonstrations sweeping Europe at the time. Since then, it has become ubiquitous, as recognisable to teenagers today as it is to their parents and grandparents.

And despite its appropriation by popular culture and marketing (Korda won a settlement against an advertising company that used the image with neither permission nor payment), Cruz Sandoval believes it remains a symbol of idealism.

"I think people … want to be anti or pro something. They want to feel something. They want to believe in something. "Unfortunately there are a lot of people who buy a $20 T-shirt with images of Che thinking they've bought part of the revolution … [but] you don't buy a revolution with $20; you've gotta die, sweat blood, tears, all of that stuff. You gotta fight for it."

Born in Los Angeles to Mexican parents, Cruz Sandoval, now 41, didn't give Cuba much thought until he was sent there to cover a visit by Pope John Paul and realised the US embargo had prevented him from knowing anything at all about this nearby country.

"It intrigued me tremendously, and I thought, 'Well, why the hell can't I come down here and find out more about it?"'

Cruz Sandoval met Korda, who had been asked by the Vatican to photograph the pope's visit - and decided to make a film about the man and his work.

Thanks to Korda, Cruz Sandoval was given unprecedented access to the national archives, and the film is brimming with never-before-seen photographs and archival film of the revolution in its infancy.

"I was able to scan hundreds of contact sheets that represented the majority of the revolutionary work, and I was also able to see some [of his] fashion photography that I was completely unaware of."

Cruz Sandoval says the skills Korda developed while working in fashion made his reportage stand out.

"I think that [the fashion photography] actually lent itself to the new revolutionary work he was doing and created a unique style in the sense that he created a revolution glam look. He really helped the new Cuban leaders to promote the new idealism."

In 2001, while the director was still working with the photographer on the film, Korda died of a heart attack.

"It struck me pretty hard," Cruz Sandoval says. "I kind of shut down [for] about a year, a year and a half … put the project on the shelf for a little while. But I was able to emotionally and spiritually and financially come back to my feet and finish it off."

He remembers Korda as a gifted photographer who never boasted about his achievements.

"He really taught me how to see a little better. I was pretty naive about certain things of Cuban history. And now I know a little bit more. And I think that's the essence of documentary work - we need more information to make educated decisions."

Hector Cruz Sandoval will introduce Kordavision at the Chauvel Cinema on Sunday at 6.30pm. The film also screens at Club Marconi on March 4. More information at sydneylatinofilmfestival.org