June 5, 2006
Chávez launches homegrown Hollywood
By Martin Hodgson
Published by The Guardian

* Venezuela must counter US culture, says president
* Film studio furthers Latin American media rollout

"Head south of the Rio Grande and you will inevitably find yourself in a lawless world of sadistic gang members and elaborately moustachioed drug barons, where the water is not safe to drink and every action unfolds against a haunting soundtrack of pan pipes.

That, at least, is the Hollywood version of Latin America. In an attempt to combat those stereotypes, the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, has launched an $11m (£5.8m) film studio which he says will create a homegrown cinema culture to counter the 'dictatorship' of Hollywood.

Opening the Cinema Town complex on Saturday, Mr Chávez described the studio as a new weapon in Venezuela's 'cultural artillery' against US cultural domination. Hollywood films perpetuate the stereotypes of Latin America, portraying the continent as a haven for drug traffickers and criminals, he said. 'That is a cultural dictatorship and we have to confront it,' he said.

Mr Chávez did not name any specific films, but Hollywood has often used Latin America as a setting for action movies such as Collateral Damage, in which Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a fireman who defeats a Colombian terrorist boss, and Proof of Life, in which Russell Crowe falls victim to kidnappers. 'It's a Hollywood dictatorship,' said Mr Chávez. 'They inoculate us with messages that don't belong to our traditions ... [about] the American way of life, imperialism.'

The cinema complex is the latest stage in his campaign to expand Venezuela's influence throughout Latin America. Last year saw the launch of Telesur, a Caracas-based TV channel promising news from a Latin American perspective (...)

Mr Chávez recently announced that the American director Oliver Stone is planning to make a film of the failed coup attempt in 2002, which involved a conspiracy to oust the Venezuelan president (...)".