Set during the violent 2017 protests in Venezuela, the result was nearly 200 deaths, thousands of injuries and arrests, and Edgar Ramirez won the Venice spotlight on September 4th in the world, “It’s a night in Caracas” (Aunu en Caracas).
By directing director-generating partners Mariana London and Marite Ugas (“Bad Hair”, “Zafari”), Adeleida fills his mother with “it’s a night in Caracas,” and clashes between anti-government protesters and the police. When she returns from the cemetery, she discovers that her apartment has been handed over to a woman along the administration. She takes shelter to a flat next door where she finds her neighbor’s body. As she falls into a close and terrifying cycle of fear and despair, Aderededa realizes that in order to stay alive, she has to let go of who she is.
The project took off while Ramírez (American Crime Story, Gold) was based on Karina Sainz Borgo, author of the novel The Film, to secure the rights. He was in London at the time for filming and their 30-minute zoom turned into a nearly two-hour session. “It was like a therapy session between us both. We both really connected and we saw potential films the same way,” he recalls.
Edgar Ramirez, credit: John Russo
When discussing with Redram’s Mexican producer, Stacey Parky (“Baldo”, “Narcos: Mexico”), the film, all the elements were placed organically. They tapped London and Ugas to write and direct, and agreed to Colombian Natalia Reyes to play Adereda. Ramirez plays a key role in supporting the film.
“I always wanted to work with Mariana and Marite, which I’ve known for a long time, but little did I know that I would end up working with them as producers,” Ramirez points out.
“She is a very versatile actress,” says Ugas of Reyes. The credits range from the dark, poetic “passing bird” to the big budget franchise “Terminator: Dark Fart.” “And while it may have been dangerous for her to play the Venezuelan, no one noticed in the end, so she really nailed the accent.”
“It was one of the most intense and amazing creative processes I’ve ever experienced,” says Reyes. “The way Marite and Mariana’s work is so detailed and structured. It was a very immersive process, and it was a lot of emotional theatrical exercises. I also loved working with Edgar. The whole team was incredible.”
This is the first time HelmerScribes has delved into the thriller genre in full. In adapting the book, they chose to focus more on the thriller aspect of the story, but still holds a spirit of longing for a place that is slipping down.
Provided by Marité Ugás (L), Mariana Rondón (R), and Sudaca Films
“Venezuela is trapped in a permanent thriller. We don’t know what will happen next,” they point out.
“There were protests in 2014 and 2019, but the most intense took place in 2017, with lots of deaths and arrests. It was really important to give that context and weight to the story.
“When I talk about Venezuela and its diaspora, I ended up filming in Mexico because it’s a Mexican production, but we were able to bring together an incredible cast consisting of Venezuelan actors who currently live in Mexico. Even the extras were Venezuelan.”
They used archival footage of the protest, but often they had to recreate some of the streets and scenes in Mexico City, so they found very similar areas with typical modernist buildings in Caracá.
Natalia Reyes will be the night of Caracas
@batarata
“We spent two weeks in Venezuela, one in Caracas and the other on the coast in Corni. It was a very intense experience. The truth is that we had to shoot something like guerrilla style. We couldn’t say we were making this film.
London said: “What I find interesting about both novels and films is how they create metaphors for so many Venezuelan experiences – our 8 million people – had to leave the country. For many reasons, the majority did so without proper documentation.
She adds: “The story tells you that sense of loss of losing your identity. And perhaps by losing that identity, you can survive. But we always asked ourselves: is it really alive?”
“It was a Night in Caracas” is produced by Redrum (Perskie and Stephanie Correa), Absolute Artists (Ramírez) and Inprisse Entertainment (Jill Littman).
