Documentary filmmaker Christian Liffers looks at the plight of homosexuals in Cuba in his provocative Dos Patrias Cuba y La Noche (Two Homelands, Cuba and the Night) showing tomorrow as part of the Providence Latin American Film Festival.

Liffers uses the writings of Reinaldo Arenas, who provoked Cuban authorities with his openly gay lifestyle in the 1970s, as a jumping-off point for his interviews with homosexuals living in Cuba today. Arenas was a poet and philosopher who was imprisoned by the government in the 1970s, fled to the United States in 1980 and died there in 1990, a suicide because he was suffering the maladies of AIDS.

Arenas’ works, most calling for tolerance and understanding, often with a defiant tone, are read by a cross section of men who are on the front lines of gay life in Cuba today. They include young men, middle-aged men, a transsexual. They talk about how difficult it is to meet others in Cuba, where gay bars do not exist. Some attend “illegal parties” staged in villages outside Havana. Others gather along the sea wall in Havana at night where they can let loose, even though they are under constant police surveillance.

Most are closeted in the macho world of Cuban society, still facing insults and slurs from others when they act too gay in public. One man says that until recently homosexuals were not allowed to enroll at the University of Havana. Others find comfort in the freer African-based religion of Santeria, where homosexuals play a pivotal role.

Although Dos Patrias Cuba y La Noche could have used a bit more judicious editing, because many of the stories told are very similar, it’s a sobering look at the lack of freedom for those who dare to be different in Castro’s Cuba.

Dos Patrias Cuba y La Noche will be screened at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Cable Car Cinema as part of the Providence Latin American Film Festival. Tickets are $8; $5 for seniors and students with ID.

mjanuson@projo.com