Imagen de Caracas

Hugo Chavez was a colourful, unpredictable folk hero who was beloved by his nation’s working class. He was elected president of Venezuela in 1998, and proved to be a tough, quixotic opponent to the power structure that wanted to depose him. When he was forcibly removed from office on 11 April 2002, two independent filmmakers were inside the presidential palace.

Mayami Nuestro goes beyond the slogan "tá barato, dame dos" (“it’s cheap, give me two”) to force a rethinking of Venezuela’s relationship with oil and national identity. Produced at the height of the oil boom, this 34-minute documentary examines Venezuelan lifestyles in the 1970s and early 1980s, questioning the consumerist fantasies fueled by petro-wealth. Through interviews with merchants, bankers, U.S. academics, and the testimonies of Venezuelans themselves, the film maps the era’s version of the “American Dream” as lived—and projected—abroad. Winner of national and international awards and directed by Carlos Oteyza, Mayami nuestro offers a sharp, historically grounded critique and an open invitation for new generations to reflect on the legacy of oil and its cultural consequences.

Trade union leader Manuel Taborda, a pioneer of workers' organisations in the oil industry, recounts his experiences and those of his colleagues from 1920 to 1936, with an emphasis on the struggles against foreign companies and the government.

In 1969, the Renovación Universitaria movement and the subsequent raid on the Central University of Venezuela by the government of Rafael Caldera, triggered a strong wave of protest in the Institutes of Higher Education in Venezuela. This documentary collects part of the events that took place in the city of Mérida, Mérida State, where the University of the Andes is located.

Cruz Quinal, "the mandolin king," lives near Cumana in a mountain valley surrounded by sugarcane fields. Perpetuating 16th century Spanish traditions of guitar-making, Cruz fashions such musical instruments as cuatros, marimba, escarpandola, and his own creation, a mandolin with two fretboards. He is an accomplished musician as well. In this moving portrait, Cruz compares himself to a decaying colonial church across the street: revered yet neglected, the village altar stands, paint peeling, under the open sky.

Documentary about the life of Luis Mariano Rivera.

A machine-voice makes a "sad film of his homeland" for a dying patient to ease its passing: footage from Kennedy's visit to Venezuela in 61' creeps through montage errors, and a seemingly endless poem comes alive one last time.

Short that tells the history of Campoma, a small Venezuelan town founded by black slaves.

1780, a group of slaves flee from a sugar cane hacienda. As they are pursued by Don Manuel Aguirre, obsessed landowner who has fixed his eyes on Azu, the beautiful slave with an ancestral destiny.

The struggle of two men, Osuna and Funes, hungry for power and wealth in a small town in Venezuela, during the dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez.

Intertwined stories of people fighting for love, survival and the truth during quarantine.

Documentary about the life of Simón Bolívar, directed by Antonio Bacé.

A portrait of American actress Uma Thurman, muse of legendary filmmaker Quentin Tarantino and courageous voice for the many victims of despotic producer Harvey Weinstein.

The world – full of sensitivity – lies far away. Changeable as the northern sky. Monotonous – like a prayer. Wonderful as stones. At the same time familiar and mysterious. We are advancing by a big river. It's autumn on the river. Somewhat empty – but it is a sensitive void: filled with vital meanings. Downstream and downstream…