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Rodrigo Michelangeli is a Canadian-Venezuelan filmmaker based in Toronto. He is the co-writer, cinematographer and producer of the feature film La soledad (Jorge Thielen Armand, 2016), which premiered at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival and helmed the same roles in his sophomore feature La Fortaleza (2020) which premiered in the Tiger Competition at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam.

An American film producer comes to Venezuela to film a movie called "Suddenly, the movie." He hires a Venezuelan director to direct the film that is shot in the Amazon jungle. As the conditions are extreme, the producer agrees that the team move to Caracas to continue filming there recreating the jungle in the city. A series of unusual and strange situations happen on the film set.

A young film director returns to Venezuela, inspired to make a film based on his father's life in the Amazon jungle (La Fortaleza, Jorge Thielen Armand). He casts Father to play himself. What starts as an act of love and ambition — filmmaking to more deeply understand the self, and the other — spirals into a process which confronts Father’s struggles with addiction and his life devoid of his son. EL FATHER PLAYS HIMSELF holds a steady lens to the way the act of cinema unearths, binds, heals and destroys.

To escape the crisis in Venezuela, and his alcoholism, Roque retreats into the Amazon jungle to renovate a cabin he built during happier times. He struggles with feverish visions caused by alcohol abstinence, and his desire for redemption becomes distorted when he joins old friends to work in an illegal gold mine controlled by Colombian guerrillas. The violence required to work in the mine plunges Roque into a cycle of self-destruction that devours his interior. He will need the fortitude to get out and start anew.

To escape the crisis in Venezuela, and his alcoholism, Roque retreats into the Amazon jungle to renovate a cabin he built during happier times. He struggles with feverish visions caused by alcohol abstinence, and his desire for redemption becomes distorted when he joins old friends to work in an illegal gold mine controlled by Colombian guerrillas. The violence required to work in the mine plunges Roque into a cycle of self-destruction that devours his interior. He will need the fortitude to get out and start anew.

To escape the crisis in Venezuela, and his alcoholism, Roque retreats into the Amazon jungle to renovate a cabin he built during happier times. He struggles with feverish visions caused by alcohol abstinence, and his desire for redemption becomes distorted when he joins old friends to work in an illegal gold mine controlled by Colombian guerrillas. The violence required to work in the mine plunges Roque into a cycle of self-destruction that devours his interior. He will need the fortitude to get out and start anew.

A personal portrait of the director’s grandfather Opa, and his wife's grandfather Ababo, who remained in Venezuela after most of their family emigrated due to the economic crisis and violence in the country.

A personal portrait of the director’s grandfather Opa, and his wife's grandfather Ababo, who remained in Venezuela after most of their family emigrated due to the economic crisis and violence in the country.

A personal portrait of the director’s grandfather Opa, and his wife's grandfather Ababo, who remained in Venezuela after most of their family emigrated due to the economic crisis and violence in the country.

In Manila, a group of young Filipinos dream of making it big in the ballet world. Victor, who comes from a poor family, and Monica from a privileged background are among them. In this city that is one of the world’s most populated, the difference between those who have and those who have not is painfully extreme. Amidst Manila’s disparate social class structure, ballet teacher Luther hopes to lift his students out of poverty through artistic and life skills one learns from dancing.

A young film director returns to Venezuela, inspired to make a film based on his father's life in the Amazon jungle (La Fortaleza, Jorge Thielen Armand). He casts Father to play himself. What starts as an act of love and ambition — filmmaking to more deeply understand the self, and the other — spirals into a process which confronts Father’s struggles with addiction and his life devoid of his son. EL FATHER PLAYS HIMSELF holds a steady lens to the way the act of cinema unearths, binds, heals and destroys.

Jose lives with his family in La Soledad, a dilapidated villa located in what used to be one of Caracas' most affluent neighborhoods. After learning that the owners are planning to sell the property, Jose seeks any solution that might keep his young daughter from growing up in the city's crime-sodden slums.

Jose lives with his family in La Soledad, a dilapidated villa located in what used to be one of Caracas' most affluent neighborhoods. After learning that the owners are planning to sell the property, Jose seeks any solution that might keep his young daughter from growing up in the city's crime-sodden slums.
