Once Upon a Time in Venezuela

On Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, Congo Mirador is situated. Not long ago, it was a thriving fishing village at the cusp of one of the largest oil fields in Latin-America. In recent years, the village, that almost seems to float on the lake, deteriorated. Because of the reclamation and the overspill of silt, Congo Mirador is polluted and dry. The film focuses on two opposites fighting for the future of the village in their own way: on the one hand there is Tamara, supporter of the passed away Venezuelan president Chavez and his successor Maduro. On the other hand we have Natalie, a teacher who has seen her school fall into disrepair, and she hopes current president Maduro loses in the upcoming elections.

Over a period of 7 years, Anabel Rodríguez Ríoz captures on film the resilience of the community, as well as the institutionalised corruption. What we get to see here on a small scale, is a reflection of current-day Venezuela: the country is sinking in an economic swamp and the residents move away to a better place. A vibrating social portrait of a village that is lacking everything, except for sensual subtropical sunlight by day, and thunderless lightning flashes at night.