Discoveries from Venezuela World Cinema

A striking political activist and refugee from Paraguay escapes to Paris and falls in love with a rich law student changing their lives forever. The beauty of their love is challenged by a fervent devotion to fighting for a cause. "Two Autumns in Paris" has won more than 130 awards and was the most awarded Venezuelan film of 2020. A historic examination of class, refugees, and political rebellion that subtly speaks in parallel to the world today. Its turbulent romance set with the background of the 'City of Love'.

Ramon Antonio Brizuela is a criminal whose life passes between rounds, parties and showdowns. Recognized by a witness during an assault, he is taken to jail where he becomes aware of the unfair and corrupt judicial system.

Super-8 animation by Venezuelan filmmaker John Moore.

Jesús María Carmona is a small-time crook who poses as a cop so he can rob a bank. A few days before the day he planned to do it, a guerrilla group robs the same bank and Carmona is shot to death defending it when he has no other choice but to act as a policeman. Soon after, his image becomes a symbol for the police and he is honored, but his identity is found out. Meanwhile, in the neighborhood where he grew up his effigy is burned as he is now considered a traitor.

In a Latin American psychiatric hospital, a woman abandoned by her family and a man incarcerated by force, they share the same sadness and loneliness. Both will face a love beyond any explanation.

Through the testimony of Manuel Taborda, a pioneer of labor organizing in Venezuela’s oil fields, this documentary revisits the experiences of oil workers between 1920 and 1936. Their memories reveal a world marked by corporal punishment, exploitation, racial segregation, and disease, alongside the emergence of collective resistance against the American and British oil companies that controlled the industry and the government that enabled them.

After his wife’s death, a man is interrogated by the State. Returning to a dystopic, totalitarian life, he weighs stifling his grief against leaving it all behind. A call leads an official to help him find his beloved.

Oliver flees from abuse of his family and seeks refuge in the violent streets of Caracas, where survival is only possible in an environment of corruption, crime and sniffing glue to escape hunger, like other children in the same situation. Soon, the child becomes part of the clashes between drug gangs and corrupt policemen.

In the middle of a night of drinking after their father's funeral, two estranged brothers decide to travel to a town on the outskirts of the city. As they descend further into oblivion, the ghosts of their past begin to materialize.

A snake charmer's assistant (who later becomes a trapeze artist) brings bad luck in the circus to those who fall in love with her. Her decision to become a trapeze artist comes after the accident that the main character has during a presentation.

A human presence breaks the primordial solitude of a tepui. Filmed during an expedition led by explorer Dr. Charles Brewer-Carías to Mount Roraima — the plateau located at the tri-border of Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil — this short experimental film reflects on the encounter between humans and one of the most remote landscapes on Earth. The film also stands as a technical and poetic gesture: bringing the Super-8 camera to such an unlikely and inaccessible place.

Camila Martínez lives on the seashore with her family, where strange phenomena occur that torment them, which little by little deteriorates their coexistence due to her father's problematic behavior.

An eccentric millionaire gives a party for his birthday. With his friends, gamblers and collectors , they play games in their own way. One of them, a woman, suggests this: since they're all gamblers they should play a fortune on the life of one of them.

Pedro Che is a carefree taxi driver who advises his friends Sebastián and Artemio, politically committed law students, to do like him.

Short animation film by Venezuelan filmmaker John Moore.

The captivating story of the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra System - an incredible network of hundreds of orchestras formed within most of Venezuela’s towns and villages. Once a modest program designed to expose rural children to the wonders of music, the system has become one of the most important and beautiful music phenomena in modern history. To Play and To Fight presents interviews and performances by many of the world’s most renowned musicians including the great tenor Placido Domingo, Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle, Guiseppe Sinopoli, and Eduardo Mata, as they reflect on the impact of such a far-reaching social project. The documentary also presents the inspirational stories of world class musicians who have been trained by the Venezuelan system, including The Berlin Philharmonic’s youngest player Edicson Ruiz and world class conductor Gustavo Dudamel.

A naive but humane student leaves his town with the ambition to become a doctor, promising to return to help his people, who see him as a local hero.

Gael is an 80-year-old photographer whose passion for the sea and whales takes him on an emotional journey in which he faces the reality of his age and the limits it imposes on his freedom. As he struggles to capture the essence of the sea once again, he is hindered by his overprotective but distant son, Míchel.

Alice is a girl devoid of affection seeking refuge in the images shown in the movie screen of a theater that his father manages in the Venezuelan Andes. This creates improbable stories in which she is the protagonist...

The captivating story of the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra System - an incredible network of hundreds of orchestras formed within most of Venezuela’s towns and villages. Once a modest program designed to expose rural children to the wonders of music, the system has become one of the most important and beautiful music phenomena in modern history. To Play and To Fight presents interviews and performances by many of the world’s most renowned musicians including the great tenor Placido Domingo, Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle, Guiseppe Sinopoli, and Eduardo Mata, as they reflect on the impact of such a far-reaching social project. The documentary also presents the inspirational stories of world class musicians who have been trained by the Venezuelan system, including The Berlin Philharmonic’s youngest player Edicson Ruiz and world class conductor Gustavo Dudamel.

A snake charmer's assistant (who later becomes a trapeze artist) brings bad luck in the circus to those who fall in love with her. Her decision to become a trapeze artist comes after the accident that the main character has during a presentation.

Through the testimony of Manuel Taborda, a pioneer of labor organizing in Venezuela’s oil fields, this documentary revisits the experiences of oil workers between 1920 and 1936. Their memories reveal a world marked by corporal punishment, exploitation, racial segregation, and disease, alongside the emergence of collective resistance against the American and British oil companies that controlled the industry and the government that enabled them.

It's an incredible heartbreaking story of son Valentino Morales left alone by his father at 7 years old with 3 brothers and his Mother. Valentino decides to go the road between New York, Dominican Republic and Venezuela to find him.

In a Latin American psychiatric hospital, a woman abandoned by her family and a man incarcerated by force, they share the same sadness and loneliness. Both will face a love beyond any explanation.

Inspired by true events, "The 86" highlights the activities of a band of 86 street thugs that were famous for their strong presence in the venezuelan capital city during the 1980's.

The wife of a hypnotist lives in a state of uncertainty over whether she's with her husband out of love or if she's been a victim of his influence.

In 1969, a wave of discontent swept through Latin American universities. In Venezuela, students set out to fundamentally renew the concept and criteria of teaching. This is their story.

A human presence breaks the primordial solitude of a tepui. Filmed during an expedition led by explorer Dr. Charles Brewer-Carías to Mount Roraima — the plateau located at the tri-border of Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil — this short experimental film reflects on the encounter between humans and one of the most remote landscapes on Earth. The film also stands as a technical and poetic gesture: bringing the Super-8 camera to such an unlikely and inaccessible place.

An American serial killer, known for his handiwork with a straight razor, manages to escape while being transported in Mexico and hides out inside a publisher's home, where he claims many more victims.

Venezuelan adaptation of The Four Featehr by A.E.W. Mason. A story of courage and redemption set in the British Empire's colonial era. When Harry Feversham resigns from his military post before a Sudan campaign, he's branded a coward and given four white feathers by his fiancée and friends. To prove his bravery, Harry embarks on a dangerous mission to Sudan to aid his comrades in secret. Overcoming peril and doubt, he redeems himself, eventually returning the feathers.

On the border of Venezuela with Colombia, during the late 80's, two men survive an armed assault near the Arauca River, in which fourteen of their companions end up dead. The Army accuses them of being guerrilla fighters and tries via intimidation to seize them from the cell where they are being watched over by the local police officer and by the entire village. They say they are simple fishermen, but pressure to yield to the official version is overwhelming.

Adonai Flores, an experienced writer of telenovelas, falls in love with Belén Helena, a girl of low class. Adonay, desperate to keep her with him, abandons his responsibilities and even his dog. After discovering that she is a drug dealer he decides to leave her and recovers his dog

Pops is dismissed from his banking job for embezzlement, and his family have to adjust to a more modest lifestyle.

The daily life of the volunteers of the Compañeros de Batalla foundation, dedicated to providing support and hope to the children fighting cancer at the Pediatric Specialties Hospital in Maracaibo.

Andrés and his son Pedro live in a working district of Caracas and hardly ever see each other. While Andrés fills his time doing different jobs, Pedro wanders the streets playing with friends and learning from the violent atmosphere around him.

Fidel, a deaf mugger, sees the possibility of a new life after he start attending to a school for the deaf. However his chances are getting shorter as the a police officer is after his trail.

A homicide detective traumatized by the death of his father has to investigate a series of strange murders, while the hit man responsible for them confesses to a priest that he will be his next victim.

Young women in the steno-pool have to balance work, romance, and touchy-feely bosses.

At the head of a group of professional deception, nicknamed "The Savvy", the mysterious man with no name (or SN) performs a fast, simple and efficient scheme to seize an armored car, achieving a billionaire booty. After running what the media describe as the coup of the decade, Funboy, the genius of the team is kidnapped by the minions of Uncle Andre. In order to free his companion (Funboy) of debt that would cause a slow and painful death, The Sweet and agree to follow SN Knee on the challenge posed by Uncle André: seize the crown of the most important beauty contest the country.

Jesús María Carmona is a small-time crook who poses as a cop so he can rob a bank. A few days before the day he planned to do it, a guerrilla group robs the same bank and Carmona is shot to death defending it when he has no other choice but to act as a policeman. Soon after, his image becomes a symbol for the police and he is honored, but his identity is found out. Meanwhile, in the neighborhood where he grew up his effigy is burned as he is now considered a traitor.

A woman with a doubtful past tries to hide it from her teenage son and attempts to change, but she cannot.

1989. Caracas is once again in danger with the comeback of the most dangerous drug lord of Venezuela, Disco Herrera; just months after "The Caracazo", a series of riots and massacres that left over 3000 casualties. Now Inspector Guerrero will investigate the strange coincidence with the help of maverick ex-cop Ryan of the DEA and destroy Herrera once and for all.

A skilled worker has a sudden nervous breakdown at the company for which he has been working for the last 20 years. He attacks the machines and smashes the windows. The company decides to have him undergo treatment with a well-known young psychiatrist. She will try to bring light the reasons for his behavior so he can adapt himself to his work once again.

After his wife’s death, a man is interrogated by the State. Returning to a dystopic, totalitarian life, he weighs stifling his grief against leaving it all behind. A call leads an official to help him find his beloved.

To escape the crisis in Venezuela, and his alcoholism, Roque retreats into the Amazon jungle to renovate a cabin he built during happier times. He struggles with feverish visions caused by alcohol abstinence, and his desire for redemption becomes distorted when he joins old friends to work in an illegal gold mine controlled by Colombian guerrillas. The violence required to work in the mine plunges Roque into a cycle of self-destruction that devours his interior. He will need the fortitude to get out and start anew.

In a rural setting, the chronicle of a woman with too many love demands.

Gabriel, a cop who seeks justice by his own hand, begins in a relationship with Raquel, the daughter of a corrupt police implicated in the death of his parents.

Elsa and her married friend Miranda become jealous and violent toward each other as they compete for the sexual affection of the hunk Sergio. Elsa takes comfort in the arms of Miranda's husband Eloy after Sergio and Miranda run away together. Their lustful desires lead to tragedy in this erotic drama.

White-collar criminals conspire to prevent a shmuck from collecting an inheritance.

About a mysterious and troubled black woman, a former practitioner of the Santería religion, who must comes to terms with her background whilst in a Caracas jail.

Pedro Zamora (Miguelangel Landa) is a former guerrilla who returns to Caracas and moves to a pension as a tenant. Despite appearances, he has come to fulfill a secret mission to its ultimate consequences.

Directed by Solveig Hoogesteijn, Macu, the Policeman's Woman (1987) is a Venezuelan crime drama based on a true story. The film follows Macu, a young woman living in a Venezuelan shantytown, who becomes romantically involved with a local policeman named Ismael. As their relationship develops, Ismael's jealousy intensifies, leading to tragic consequences. The narrative delves into themes of power, control, and the dynamics of abusive relationships within marginalized communities. The film is notable for its exploration of gender roles and societal issues in Latin America.

Existential confrontations are unleashed while people try to survival within a concret jungle. Such conflict gets worst when the person is near his fifties and finds himself empty-handed, without a real company, full of frustrations that hound him.

Elisa is treated and poisoned by her envious cousin Irene. Elisa leaves the notice denouncing her murder hidden in a picture frame. Irene marries the widower. Barbara arrives in Caracas with her nanny and enters to serve in the house of Don Luis, who dies. Pablo, the son of the deceased, falls in love with Barbara and ends up, after multiple inconveniences and oppositions, marrying her.

Ramon Antonio Brizuela is a criminal whose life passes between rounds, parties and showdowns. Recognized by a witness during an assault, he is taken to jail where he becomes aware of the unfair and corrupt judicial system.

At millenium's end, a psychopath is terrorizing a major Latin city. This unusual thriller skillfully blends the thriller and romance genres.