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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Imagen de Caracas was an experimental film spectacle, directed by Jacobo Borges and Mario Robles in 1968 for the 400 anniversary of the foundation of Caracas. It needed more than 48768 meters of film and 5000 actors.
Short that tells the history of Campoma, a small Venezuelan town founded by black slaves.
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.
Freedom, elections and democracy are at the very core of India's constitution. Learn about the intricacies of the world's largest democracy manages to hold free and fair elections. On National Geographic.
A critique on Apple for not having a battery replacement program for the iPod.
A documentary following the children of a nursery class from ages 0 to 6
A documentary on an elementary school class in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo
After researching anomalous phenomena for many years, Laura Rowton decided to embark upon a journey of discovery in search of proof of life after death. "In Search of the Dead" follows her across Europe as she interviews renowned academics and experts, and shadows experienced ghost hunters and paranormal investigators. As an open-minded sceptic, her intention is to observe and document the different opinions surrounding the ever-increasing belief in the existence of spirits of the dead. Yet, before too long she realises that, when handling such emotive subject matter, it is not always possible to remain an unaffected observer.
Captivated by the classic form of Japanese comedy known as manzai, Stephen, an American, sets out to break into Japan's entertainment world.
In a fascinating geopolitical drama, Danish filmmaker Mik-Meyer closely follows Ravalomanana as he attempts to return from exile in South Africa to Madagascar, under the threat of arrest and bodily harm.
Mudzingwa and Ledwaba correctly seek no easy answer to this complicated question. At its narrative core is the Ditrupa, a celebration of military history held in Markapanstad, rural North-West – a filtered-down appropriation of Scottish tradition brought back by black South African troops who served in the Great War. As well as covering black military history, the film provides a telling juxtaposition of black memory against white history. Its portraiture of the craft and history of Diturupa, it needles in on an uncomfortable nostalgia that may be a basis of inquiry for future films on the subject.
