The massive political and economic crisis and one of the world’s largest refugee crises in Venezuela is the backdrop of this stunning film and Oscar contender.

‘ONCE UPON A TIME IN VENEZUELA’ TO BE RELEASED BY TOPIC 
STREAMING SERVICE
IN THE U.S. AND CANADA
ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31

MADE HISTORY AS THE FIRST VENEZUELAN DOCUMENTARY AT SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

Directed by Anabel Rodríguez Ríos
Produced and Edited by Sepp R. Brudermann

Once upon a time, the Venezuelan village of Congo Mirador was prosperous, alive with fishermen and poets. Now it is decaying and disintegrating – a small but prophetic reflection of Venezuela itself.


SYNOPSIS

On Lake Maracaibo, beneath the mysterious silent Catatumbo lightning, the village of Congo Mirador is preparing for parliamentary elections. For streetwise local businesswoman and Chavist party representative Tamara every vote counts, fought by all means, while for opposition-supporting teacher Natalie, politics is a weapon unsuccessfully attempting to force her from her job. And with her sharp eyes, little Yoaini sees her community sinking from sedimentation, her childhood and innocence with it. How can a small shing village survive against corruption, pollution and political decay – a reflection of all the flaws of contemporary Venezuela.  

BACKDROP

With the world’s largest crude reserves at Lake Maracaibo not far from Congo Mirador, Venezuela was one of Latin America’s richest countries through the 1990s. The lake’s namesake city was even referred to as “Venezuela’s Saudi Arabia.” But inequality was high, and the boom time wasn’t to last. In 1999, Hugo Chavez took power and launched the Bolivarian Revolution, centralizing power to the state, redistributing wealth and nationalizing industries including oil and banking. His socialist political reforms put him at odds with the United States, and a hostile relationship lasted until his death in 2013. His successor, Nicolas Maduro, continued Chavez’s legacy, but by 2016, oil prices had fallen by more than 70 percent, plunging the country into a humanitarian crisis. In addition, the Trump administration put sanctions on Venezuela and refused to recognize Maduro’s presidency after highly disputed elections in 2018. Suffering from hyperinflation, environmental degradation, and shortage of food and basic necessities, over 4 million Venezuelans left the country in the past few years, and many millions more are expected to continue to flee in what will be the world’s worst refugee crisis of modern times…

Topic is available to U.S. and Canadian audiences on Topic.com, Apple iOS, and AppleTV, Android, Amazon Fire TV and Roku, in addition to Amazon Prime Video Channels.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE
https://www.onceuponatimeinvenezuela.com

CREDITS

Directed by Anabel Rodríguez Ríos
Produced & Edited by Sepp R. Brudermann
Written by Anabel Rodríguez Ríos, Sepp R. Brudermann
Direction of Photography: John Márquez
Sound Recording: Marco Salaverria, Gherman Gil
Executive Producer: Claudia Lepage
Co-Producers: Arash T. Riahi, Malu Campos, Nancy Harrison, Joe Torres
Editor: Sepp R. Brudermann
Original Music: Nascuy Linares
Sound Mix: Daniel Turini