Orinoco, New World

In 1856, a whaler arrives in Paita, Peru; on board is Herman Melville, who is astonished to learn that Manuela Sáenz, for eight years the lover of Simón Bolívar, is still alive. He calls on her, and although she will not talk to him about her life, his visit sends her to her chest of Bolívar's letters. As she reads them, the sepia-toned present gives way to flashbacks in color: she meets 'the Liberator' in 1822, becomes his lover, and also becomes a colonel in his military movement to realize the 'Gran Colombia', one nation across South America. As plague (brought by the ship) closes in on Manuela's household, so does her tempestuous story move toward Bolívar's betrayal and death.

This is the first of Diego Risquez’ trilogy of avant-garde cinematic treatments of historical subjects. Using a painterly style, it features portraits, still lifes, and scenes shot as tableaux vivants, the film provides an experimental interpretation of the arrival of the Spanish and their domination of the New World, as well as the Venezuelan Independence movement, focusing on the role of Simón Bolívar. There is no dialogue or narration, simply a musical score and the depiction of events from Bolívar’s career.

In 1750, in the glare of the Caribbean, the man who created history known as the forerunner of independence in Venezuela. His name is Francisco de Miranda and, to be exact, is the largest globetrotter who has known the Americas, Miranda has a reputation as an inveterate wanderer, an eternal conspirator, a turncoat, a conqueror of nobles and courtiers, a lover of asylums, libraries, prisons and brothels, has written 63 volumes of his autobiography, a friend of princes, military and world-renowned artists, collector of women and unthinkable dreams, restless fugitive, owner of ten different names, and presented by the British press the moment as the future liberator of Spanish America.

The film follows the rise to fame of venezuelan singer Felipe Pirela. From the beginnings when he worked alongside Billo Frometa and his band Billo's Caracas Boys to the days of his death at the hands of a drug dealer.

It is a love story that takes place between 1924 and 1954 on the shore of the Caribbean Seawhere we discover the universe of the great Venezuelan artist Armando Reveron, his relationship with his muse Juanita and inseparable companion, the friends who frequent the building andrecreation of the objects that make up his world, his obsession with tropical light that blinds. We will see the development of his mental illness and the universe playful, emotional and painful inthis magical space called The Castillete.

This low-budget avant garde feature uses no dialogue in telling the story of the reaction of the Spanish court after the initial exploration of America. A botanist revels in his collection of new plants. A native is baptized in a church ceremony, and nuns and court jesters appear throughout this rambling feature.