The documentary A la Calle, about Venezuela’s current political, economic and humanitarian crisis, has been acquired by WarnerMedia OneFifty. The film will premiere on HBO Max Sept. 15.
The selection of that premiering date may be no accident. It’s been designated as International Day of Democracy by the United Nations.
Directed by filmmakers Nelson G. Navarrete and Maxx Caicedo, A la Calle follows the efforts of Venezuelans fighting the government of President Nicolás Maduro, which the opposition and critics call a dictatorship. The Latin American nation has faced extraordinary political turmoil for the past three decades, including a failed coup d’état in 1992 and an ever-deepening economic crisis that has reportedly led over 4 million Venezuelans to leave their country in what is considered one of the major migrations in the history of the Americas.
Navarrete and Caicedo worked with a network of clandestine camera crews over three years recording exclusive interviews with key opposition figures including opposition leaders Leopoldo López and Juan Guaidó, grassroots activist Nixon Leal and everyday Venezuelans. The filmmakers say they smuggled hard drives with the film out of the South American country.
The film is a production of Priority Pictures and Vitamin Productions in association with The Brakefield Company and executive produced by Greg Little, Karen Lauder and Lizzie Friedman.
The film was produced by Shawna Brakefield-Haase (Momentum Generation) and Marcus Cheek along with Navarrete and Caicedo. David Mosquera is the director of photography. The film is edited by Yesenia Higuera, with music by Venezuelan native Elik Álvarez, who includes traditional Venezuelan instrumentation and musicians in the film score.
Los Angeles-based Navarrete was born in Venezuela and holds a bachelor’s degree in cinema from San Francisco State University. He started filming Latin American hip-hop music videos on a trip back to his homeland, according to his biography. His IMDb credits list him as a second camera in the 2017 documentary Knowing Nothing Cold.
For his part, Caicedo is a novice filmmaker who has no previous IMDb credits. He reportedly leads business development as chief marketing officer of Vitamin Productions, whose clients include HBO. A second-generation Colombian-American, he holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and English literature from Tufts University and has worked as a political consultant.
A la Calle marks the directorial debut of both Navarrete and Caicedo, who also serve as producers.
The film has been screened at the Doc Nyc Film Festival, Amsterdam’s Human Rights Watch Film Festival, Toronto’s Hot Docs/Human Rights Watch Film Festival, Miami Film Festival, London’s Human Rights Watch Film Festival and Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival.
“It is an honor to have the film premiere on HBO Max where audiences will now have the chance to experience this beautifully told, powerful story,” says Little of Priority Pictures. “Our hope is that A la Calle raises critical awareness about the ongoing humanitarian and political crises in Venezuela.”
“OneFifty understands documentary films can be more than just art or entertainment, but a medium through which the world can learn about the most important sociopolitical issues of our time,” say Navarrete and Caicedo in a joined statement.
Endeavor Content handled domestic sales on behalf of the filmmakers. International rights to the film are still available.
The deal was negotiated by Chris Grunden, senior vice president of content acquisitions for HBO and HBO MAX.
Featured Photo: ‘A la Calle’ (Credit: Alejandro Cegarra)
