Danny Glover, Haiti, and the Politics of Revolutionary Cinema in Venezuela

August 14th 2008, by Nikolas Kozloff - NACLA
Since the inception of the oil industry in the early twentieth century, Venezuela has had strong cultural ties to the United States. President Hugo Chávez however has sought to change this by cultivating a sense of cultural nationalism in his country. Perhaps the hallmark of Chávez’s new cultural policy is Villa del Cine, a spanking new film studio. Inaugurated in June 2006 amid much fanfare, the $42 million project under the Ministry of Culture aims to produce 19 feature-length films a year, in addition to documentaries and television series. Through this “Bolivarian Cinecittà,” Chávez seeks to spur production of films dealing with social empowerment, South American history, and Venezuelan values.

Chávez himself has long favored such movies: two of Chávez’s favorite films include El Caracazo, directed by Roman Chalbaud, which depicts popular protests and riots against the corrupt government of Carlos Andrés Pérez in 1989. The second, Amaneció de Golpe (The Coup Awakened) by Carlos Azpúrua, deals with Chávez’s attempted military coup against the Pérez regime in 1992.

By spurring local film production, Chávez and the staff at Villa del Cine hope to counteract the pervasive influence of Hollywood and to promote Venezuelan history and culture. “They inoculate us with messages that have nothing to do with our traditions,” the Venezuelan leader said during Villa del Cine’s inauguration ceremony. Though some foreign films were “enjoyable,” Chávez remarked, most Indians and Latin Americans in them were portrayed as people that were “savage and dangerous, who have to be eliminated.”

“Hollywood sends a message to the world that tries to sustain the so-called American way of life and imperialism,” he added. “It is like a dictatorship.” Venezuela is hardly the first government to subsidize cinematic production. In many European nations as well as Latin American countries like Brazil and Mexico, it’s common for authorities to provide state funding for movie making. On the other hand, Villa del Cine has not been immune from criticism. Ironically, some charge that the film studio is promoting Hollywood stars like Danny Glover while neglecting the local Venezuelan film industry. The controversy has put Villa del Cine on the defensive and led to accusations that the facility is playing favorites.

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/3719