Page Six on the other Cuba Documentary

HERE'S more on the "very different Cuban documentary" HBO is airing as a replacement for Oliver Stone's Fidel-fawning "Commandante." "Our documentary was shot in Cuba during the same time as Stone's, only �Dissident: Oswaldo Paya and the Varela Project' presents a more acrid vision of the current political situation there," a spokeswoman for the filmmakers told PAGE SIX. Paya, first jailed at age 17, is a 2003 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and the leading voice of dissent in Cuba. Forty-two of the 80 dissidents Fidel Castro recently sentenced to prison terms as long as 28 years are part of Paya's Varela Project. The documentary, which was smuggled out of Cuba, features some of those political prisoners. It will be shown at the Tribeca Film Festival May 9.

More on the film:

"Dissident: Oswaldo Pay� and the Varela Project," a 20-minute documentary shot in Cuba and taken out of the country for international screening. The film tells the story of the Varela Project, a campaign for open elections, free speech, free enterprise and freedom for political prisoners led by Havana-based activist Oswaldo Pay� Sardi�as, a 2003 Nobel Peace Prize nominee.

The Varela Project, a growing, peaceful movement, draws upon a provision in the Cuban constitution that enables citizens to introduce legislation when accompanied by 10,000 signatures. Last May, Pay� and other Varela organizers submitted 11,020 signatures to the National Assembly. During his visit to Havana, former President Jimmy Carter recognized the Varela Project on national TV - the first time that the Cuban people openly heard mention of the signature campaign. However, the Cuban government ignored the petition drive and cracked down on those involved, imprisoning dozens of Varela activists under false charges. Against all odds, Oswaldo Pay� has vowed to continue his campaign for democratic reform in Cuba and has collected tens of thousands of additional signatures.

"This extraordinary documentary reveals how, in the face of adversity, Oswaldo Pay� has created an unprecedented grassroots nationwide civic movement that reflects the democratic hopes and aspirations of the Cuban people," said Madeleine K. Albright, NDI Chairman and former U.S. Secretary of State. "The film underscores and documents his heroic efforts as a champion of democracy."

Since the war in Iraq began, the Cuban government has tried, convicted and sentenced in secret trials more than 80 journalists, human rights activists and independent trade union members. More than half are Varela Project organizers, many of whom appear in the documentary. Dissidents have received prison sentences for as long as 28 years.

In speaking about Oswaldo Pay� and the Varela Project, former Czech President V�clav Havel said, "The cry of freedom, the free action of a person, is in my opinion the most important, and it is the first nail in the coffin of a system based on a lie."