A la calle

A la calle
Film poster
Directed byMaxx Caicedo
Nelson G. Navarrete
Produced byShawna Brakefield-Haase
Marcus Cheek
Maxx Caicedo
Nelson G. Navarrete
CinematographyDavid Mosquera
Music byElik Alvarez
Production
companies
Priority Pictures
The Brakefield Company
Vitamin Productions
Distributed byHBO Max
Release date
  • 2020 (2020)
Running time
110 minutes
CountriesVenezuela
United States

A la calle (lit. 'To The Streets') is a 2020 documentary film directed by Maxx Caicedo and Nelson G. Navarrete. The documentary focuses on the crisis in Venezuela, the 2017 Venezuelan protests and the Venezuelan presidential crisis.

Synopsis

The documentary revolves about the efforts by Venezuelans to reestablish democracy in Venezuela from Nicolás Maduro, whose policies plunged the country into economic crisis and caused large nationwide demonstrations. The film also features opposition leader Leopoldo López, sentenced to 14 years in prison under charged for “inciting violence” after encouraging people to protest, and the rise to power of Juan Guaidó, president of the National Assembly of Venezuela.[1][2][3] The film interviews Federica Ávila, a female medical student who supports her community where she can, and a man that must emigrate to support his family, as well as people who support President Hugo Chávez and Maduro.[1][4]

Reception

The documentary was nominated for the 2021 Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Award of the Cleveland International Film Festival and was the winner of the 2021 Beyond the Screen Competition category of the DocAviv Film Festival.[3][5] The documentary has also been screened at DOC NYC, Human Rights Watch Film Festival Toronto, Human Rights Watch Film Festival Amsterdam, Human Rights Watch Film Festival London, and the Miami Film Festival.[3]

in a review of The New York Times, Nicolas Rapold describes the film as "granular portrait of struggle and survival", stating that "the grave damage done by Venezuela’s dictatorship becomes abundantly clear in the documentary".[6] Critic Rob Aldam states in Backseat Mafia that "Using a network of undercover reporters and spending three years interviewing key opposition figures, A la calle documents a nation desperate for change", and that it "highlights the desire and determination of the ordinary people to take their country back."[7] Amber Wilkinson reviewed in Eye For Film that "A little less protest footage and a little more cohesion in terms of the interview presentation would help the film's structure enormously as the dipping in and out of various stories means the timeline becomes tricky to follow in places", but that nevertheless "film brings home the panoply of problems facing Venezuela, while making no bones about the further detrimental impact Maduro is having on the situation".[4] Pat Mullen concludes at POV Magazine that "A La Calle is yet another portrait of a nation teetering precariously upon the edge of democracy".[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Doc Corner: 'A la calle'". The Film Experience. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  2. ^ A La Calle (2020) (in Spanish), Filmaffinity, retrieved 2022-01-29
  3. ^ a b c "A La Calle". Docaviv 2021. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  4. ^ a b "A La Calle (2021) Movie Review from Eye for Film". Eye For Film. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  5. ^ "A La Calle". Cleveland International Film Festival. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  6. ^ Rapold, Nicolas (2021-09-15). "'A La Calle' Review: In Venezuela, a Chorus of Discontent". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  7. ^ "HRWFF Review: A La Calle". Backseat Mafia. 2021-03-17. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  8. ^ Mullen, Pat (2021-02-16). "A La Calle Review: On the Edge of Democracy". POV Magazine. Retrieved 2022-01-29.