9 Best Movies from Venezuela to Watch First

9 Essential Films from Venezuela

Ranked native cinema in Venezuela’s own creative voice.

1. 

   1. The Liberator

   Libertador · 2013

   This sweeping epic dramatizes the life of Simón Bolívar, the general who led much of South America in its wars of independence against the Spanish Empire and became a founding hero of the continent. A grand historical biopic.

2. 

   2. Once Upon a Time in Venezuela

   Érase una vez en Venezuela, Congo Mirador · 2020

   In the stilt village of Congo Mirador, once thriving and now sinking into the polluted lake, rival matriarchs and dwindling families cling on as their community disintegrates — a haunting microcosm of Venezuela itself. A poetic, observational documentary.

3. 

   3. Papita, maní, tostón

   2013

   A die-hard fan of one Venezuelan baseball team falls for a woman devoted to their bitter rivals, and their romance is tested by the fierce loyalties and family pressures that divide them. A crowd-pleasing romantic comedy.

4. 

   4. The House at the End of Time

   La casa del fin de los tiempos · 2013

   A woman haunted by apparitions in her decaying old house must unravel a terrifying mystery that spans decades and could foretell the death of her family. A twisty, atmospheric Venezuelan horror.

5. 

   5. Araya

   1959

   This lyrical documentary spends a day among the salt-workers of a remote Venezuelan peninsula, where families have harvested salt by hand for five centuries in a timeless, grueling cycle of labor. A hypnotic, poetic masterpiece.

6. 

   6. El Inca

   2016

   This drama traces the turbulent life of Edwin El Inca Valero, the Venezuelan boxing champion whose ferocious talent in the ring was matched by the violence and demons that consumed him outside it. A tragic sports biopic.

7. 

   7. Bad Hair

   Pelo malo · 2013

   A nine-year-old boy in a Caracas housing project longs to straighten his curly hair for a school photo, an innocent wish that ignites his struggling mother's fear and disapproval. Mariana Rondón's tender, clear-eyed coming-of-age drama.

8. 

   8. Tango Bar

   2024

   A young woman who travels abroad chasing a dream of modeling is deceived and forced into prostitution at a cabaret, where she endures the horrors of a sex-trafficking network. A harrowing social drama.

9. 

   9. Infection

   Infección · 2019

   As a new strain of rabies erupts into an epidemic across Venezuela, a doctor father fights to get his infected son to a cure through a country descending into chaos. A tense outbreak thriller.