"The story of an 11-year-old girl living in the slums of Caracas whose bleak future at the hands of a cruel grandmother, Brigida, and local thugs changes upon first hearing the notes of a classically played clarinet. Sentenced to a reform school for delinquent children, Maroa attends her first music class and falls in love with both Mozart and her music teacher, Joaquín – played by Tristán Ulloa, “Sex and Lucia” – who becomes the first person to give her hope and unconditional support. Joaquín recognizes her rare, raw talent and is determined to pass on the discipline and skills to turn her life around. The challenges they face and their unique student-teacher bond change both their lives forever."
Maroa, though it shows the cruelty and violence present in the lives of children of the slums of Caracas gives hope for the future in its portrayal of a Venezuelan state-sponsored musical training program which has provided both musical instruments, and musical training to over 250 thousand children, as of 2007[update]. Co-written by Fernando Castets, Solveig Hoogesteijn and Claudia Nazoa, the film introduces the young actress Yorlis Domínguez in the title role.
Domínguez' "confident, spontaneous and uniquely authentic portrayal" (according to Below the Line, a film industry magazine) of Maroa was living in the film's environment when she was cast for the role. A four-month casting search had been fruitless, when, with only four days left to cast the role before the start of shooting, she was discovered on the streets of Caracas. Coincidentally, having just been diagnosed with an attention deficit, and having had it suggested that it would be therapeutic for her to become involved in acting in some way—her parents were seeking a casting office. Their conversation was overheard by the casting agent, who was at that very moment, engaged in a frantic search for a girl of the right age and appearance who would be capable of the somewhat difficult role—of Maroa, an orphan on the brink of living a life of crime on the streets, who becomes transformed by the power of music.
Presented by Macu Films and Tornasol Films in association with Televisión Española, Canal+ and with the support of Ibermedia, ICAA and CNAC, the film also features Tristán Ulloa, Elba Escobar, Luke Grande and Enghel Alejo, as well as numerous residents of the economically depressed and notoriously dangerous environment in which the film was shot — in supporting roles, minor speaking roles and as background talent.
Amazonas State is one of the 23 states into which Venezuela is divided. It covers nearly a fifth of the area of Venezuela, but has less than 1% of Venezuela's population.
María Teresa Gertrudis de Jesús Carreño García was a Venezuelan pianist, soprano, composer, and conductor. Over the course of her 54-year concert career, she became an internationally renowned virtuoso pianist and was often referred to as the "Valkyrie of the Piano". Carreño was an early adopter of the works of one of her students, American composer and pianist Edward MacDowell (1860–1908) and premiered several of his compositions across the globe. She also frequently performed the works of Norwegian composer and pianist Edvard Grieg (1843–1907). Carreño composed approximately 75 works for solo piano, voice and piano, choir and orchestra, and instrumental ensemble. Several composers dedicated their compositions to Carreño, including Amy Beach and Edward MacDowell.
Guaco is a tropical music band from Venezuela that was formed in Maracaibo by Mario Viloria, Alfonso "Pompo" Aguado, and Fernando Domínguez in 1968. Viloria, the main founder, retired to focus on his college studies; he was the group's main composer for several years. His home was also the main place where practices were held in the group's early years. The name Guaco is attributed a bird named "Guaco" that would fly over Viloria's house every morning. The band began as a gaita zuliana group, and during the 70s diverged from the traditional way of playing the genre by integrating it with elements of salsa music, and adding in violins and electric guitars which were very unusual instruments to be included in a gaita band. Today, the Guaco rhythm continues to evolve through a complex mixture of gaita, salsa, pop music, jazz, funk and even rock and roll and vallenato rhythms, concocting a recognizable and unique style that is considered to be a hallmark of the tropical music genre.
The Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela is a Venezuelan orchestra. Named after the Venezuelan national hero Simón Bolívar, it was initially the apex of the nation's system of youth orchestras. By 2011, it was no longer officially a youth orchestra as many of its members remained with the orchestra and the average age had risen to the early 20's. It was replaced as the national youth orchestra by the Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra.
Solveig Hoogesteijn, born in Sweden, is a noted Venezuelan motion picture writer, producer and director.
Somos tú y yo, known as Somos tú y yo: Un nuevo día for its final season, is a Venezuelan telenovela filmed in Caracas, Venezuela and developed by Boomerang Latin America and Venezuela television channel Venevisión the series starred Sheryl Rubio together with Víctor Drija.
Playing for Time is a 1980 CBS television film, written by Arthur Miller and based on acclaimed musician Fania Fénelon's autobiography The Musicians of Auschwitz. Vanessa Redgrave stars as Fénelon.
In Venezuela, since the opening of the Teatro Caracas and, earlier, the Teatro Maderero, there has been a great lyrical tradition ranging from serious opera to operetta, zarzuela, and Spanish musical reviews.
La Heredera is a Mexican telenovela produced by TV Azteca. It marked the third reunion for Silvia Navarro and Sergio Basañez as protagonists. The series was then developed into an American telenovela by the title of American Heiress.
Fundación Villa del Cine is a government-funded Venezuelan film and TV production house that was inaugurated on 3 June 2006 by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez in the city of Guarenas, near the capital, Caracas.
The cinema of Venezuela is the production and industry of filmmaking in Venezuela. Venezuelan cinema has been characterised from its outset as propaganda, partially state-controlled and state-funded, commercial cinema. The nation has seen a variety of successful films, which have reaped several international awards. Still, in terms of quality, it is said that though "we can point to specific people who have made great films in Venezuela [and] a couple of great moments in the history of Venezuelan cinema, [...] those have been exceptions". In the 21st century, Venezuelan cinema has seen more independence from the government, but has still been described as recently as 2017 to be at least "influenced" by the state.
Claudia Lee Black is an Australian actress, best known for her portrayals of Aeryn Sun in Farscape, Vala Mal Doran in Stargate SG-1 and Sharon "Shazza" Montgomery in the film Pitch Black. She has had prominent roles in video games, such as Chloe Frazer in Uncharted, Morrigan in Dragon Age, Admiral Daro'Xen and Matriarch Aethyta in Mass Effect and Tess Everis in Destiny and Samantha Byrne in Gears of War 3, Gears of War 4, and Gears 5. She also had a recurring role as Dahlia in The Originals and starred as Dr. Sabine Lommers in The CW's Containment.
Luis Gerónimo Abreu Ascanio is a Venezuelan actor known for his performance in telenovelas.
That's the Woman I Want is a 1950 Venezuelan-Argentine comedy film directed by Juan Carlos Thorry and starring Olga Zubarry, Francisco Álvarez, Héctor Monteverde and Amador Bendayán. It was Thorry's directorial debut, though he had gone to Venezuela to act, and was commercially successful. The film has been analyzed as part of Venezuelan film history, in particular by Central University of Venezuela academic María Gabriela Colmenares.
The Longest Distance is a 2013 film directed by Claudia Pinto. A Venezuelan/Spanish co-production, the film was nominated for Best Ibero-American Film at the 29th Goya Awards.
Andreina Gómez is a Venezuelan filmmaker, ethnologist, and founder of Salinas Producciones C.A. Her documentaries feature cultural and ethnological themes discovered in her research, with her major work focusing on music. She is known for her work as a producer for Water Drums, an Ancestral Encounter which explored how African musical influences appear in Venezuelan music. As of 2015 she was in production for Teresita y El Piano, a documentary of the life of Teresa Carreño. Her productions have appeared in several international film festivals and academic institutions. In addition she works to promote cultural outreach through her films, both within Venezuela and internationally.
The Lighthouse of the Orcas is a 2016 Spanish-Argentine drama film directed by Gerardo Olivares. It stars Maribel Verdú and Joaquín Furriel.
Taxi to Gibraltar is a 2019 Spanish-Argentine buddy road movie and madcap comedy with adventure elements directed by Alejo Flah, starring Joaquín Furriel, Dani Rovira and Ingrid García-Jonsson.
Deliciosa fruta seca is a 2017 Peruvian drama film written and directed by Ana Caridad Sanchez in her directorial debut. Starring Claudia Dammert. The film is proposed as "a tribute to the marinera, to women and to the conquest of freedom."
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