Before Night Falls

Before Night Falls is a 2000 American biographical drama film directed by Julian Schnabel. The film is based on both the autobiography of the same name by Reinaldo Arenas—published in English in 1993—as well as Jana Boková's 1990 documentary Havana. The screenplay was co-written by Schnabel, Lázaro Gómez Carriles and Cunningham O'Keefe. The film stars Javier Bardem (in his international film debut), Johnny Depp, Olivier Martinez, Andrea Di Stefano, Santiago Magill, John Ortiz, Héctor Babenco, Sean Penn, and Michael Wincott. The film had its world premiere at the 57th Venice International Film Festival. At the 71st Academy Awards, Bardem was nominated for Best Actor, becoming the first Spanish performer to do so.