Movie funded by Chavez hits screens |
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Sun, 14 Oct 2007 21:03
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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez is taking on Hollywood with the first major film produced by his government, a historical saga about Venezuelan independence hero Francisco de Miranda.The movie was produced by Venezuela's new state film studio, and at a premiere screening Thursday night, Chavez called it an effort to counter Hollywood's global domination by offering homegrown alternatives.'There is no revolution if we don't recover our culture, our own values,' Chavez said. 'It's part of the fight against (U.S.) imperial hegemony.'The film, 'Miranda Regresa,' or 'Miranda Returns,' is directed by Luis Alberto Lamata and features Jorge Reyes as the hero who led Venezuela's independence struggle against Spain before dying in prison in 1816.American actor Danny Glover, a supporter of Chavez, also plays a minor fictional role as a Haitian who meets Miranda in New York and joins his struggle.The film, which opened in Venezuelan theaters Friday, was produced with a budget of $2.3 million by the state-run Cinema Town, which Chavez founded last year. It was shot in Venezuela, Cuba and Prague, Czech Republic.The studio outside Caracas is producing three dozen other movies, documentaries and TV programs, including a film about Luis Posada Carriles, a former CIA operative who is accused by Venezuela and Cuba of masterminding the 1976 bombing of a Cuban jetliner.Critics say that a heavy government hand in film making may put politics before art. But Lamata denied serving political aims, saying 'we tried to take an objective view of Miranda' to teach viewers about a historical figure.He said the movie will be shown at international film festivals.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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