Capturing the Revolution on Film

Some observers say that's exactly the problem with Cinema City -- the heavy hand of the president and his advisers, namely Culture Minister Francisco Sesto, who gives the green light to the studio's projects.

Jonathan Jakubowicz, a Venezuelan filmmaker, said Cinema City will permit young directors to make movies but only within tight parameters.

Two years ago, Jakubowicz's raw and harrowing film about street kidnappings in Venezuela, "Secuestro Express," broke box office records for a homegrown production. It also prompted a virulent reaction from the government.

Jakubowicz, who raised the money for his film without government aid, said such a movie would never be made at Cinema City.

"They either want movies that portray the revolution as the solution of all the problems of the nation or they want movies that tell the stories of independence leaders, always with a version that favors values that can be used to celebrate the Bolivarian Revolution," he said. "I don't think there's any chance to make movies that are not in tune with the revolution."

Aureliano Alfonso, art director at City Cinema, agreed that it would be hard to make films that cast a negative light on Venezuelan society. There would likely be no Venezuelan version of the Brazilian masterpiece "City of God," a violent film about drug gangs in Rio de Janeiro.

Alfonso, who nevertheless sees great potential in City Cinema, said he worries that the studio might focus too much on political films, as has been the case in the past in Latin America.

"I think Cinema City needs to open itself much more, open up its criteria over its themes, over the way to make movies," he said. "It cannot stay stuck on the movies of the past, like in the '70s, when we had a great boom in national movies, and all the themes were political."

Efterpi Charalambidis is among the young directors who have benefited from Cinema City.

Her film, now being shot in Caracas neighborhoods, certainly has a touch of politics. Her protagonist, Libertador Morales, is a straight arrow who drives a motorcycle taxi and reveres the real Liberator, Sim¿n Bol¿var, the independence-era hero idolized by Venezuela's government.

But the $1 million film, a mix of comedy and drama, delves into the urban calamity of Caracas, from the horrendous traffic to the rampant crime. Libertador Morales becomes something of a vigilante in the film -- though Charalambidis said he's no Charles Bronson.

"I said to myself, 'What if it's about a guy who has a keen sense of righteousness and justice,' " she said, explaining how she developed her idea.