about
In the chaos of a humanitarian crisis, a woman struggles to access vital government food support for her family. As she faces the obstacles of a broken system, her young nephew is captivated by an authoritarian leader who absurdly presents himself as: Super Bigote.
As a Venezuelan-Swiss filmmaker raised between the two countries, López's work explores the duality of the human experience within flawed political systems. Bigote echoes this concept of duality with the re-enactment of a real Venezuelan propaganda cartoon, seeping into the everyday life of fictional characters –inspired by López's family and life experiences. Behind a retro telenovela aesthetic, the re-enactment in Bigote interrogates the role of film as a tool for control and distraction from real issues.
Mainstream media has a long history of not only diabolizing the Latino community, using Venezuela as synonym of danger for the sake of entertainment and sensationalism. Recent political events in the U.S., where hundreds of Venezuelans are deported under the Alien Enemies Act without investigation nor trial –using nationality and ethnicity as main criteria– is a blatant example for how the Venezuelan (and Latino) community is too often perceived: gangsters.
Meanwhile, over 7.7 million Venezuelans have left the country since 2014, due to violence from both the government and gangs, hyperinflation, shortages of food and essential services. In the midst of such humanitarian crisis, Bigote calls attention to the bizarre day-to-day life of human beings striving for a better tomorrow.
López acknowledges being in a position of privileges due to their current geographic location, which allows them to create somewhat freely. Bigote is a reflection of that privilege and their stance in centering humanity over entertainment; while tracing political parallels of bigotry, between Venezuela’s fascist politics and the oppressive Economic Empires who point an accusatory finger.
As a Venezuelan-Swiss filmmaker raised between the two countries, López's work explores the duality of the human experience within flawed political systems. Bigote echoes this concept of duality with the re-enactment of a real Venezuelan propaganda cartoon, seeping into the everyday life of fictional characters –inspired by López's family and life experiences. Behind a retro telenovela aesthetic, the re-enactment in Bigote interrogates the role of film as a tool for control and distraction from real issues.
Mainstream media has a long history of not only diabolizing the Latino community, using Venezuela as synonym of danger for the sake of entertainment and sensationalism. Recent political events in the U.S., where hundreds of Venezuelans are deported under the Alien Enemies Act without investigation nor trial –using nationality and ethnicity as main criteria– is a blatant example for how the Venezuelan (and Latino) community is too often perceived: gangsters.
Meanwhile, over 7.7 million Venezuelans have left the country since 2014, due to violence from both the government and gangs, hyperinflation, shortages of food and essential services. In the midst of such humanitarian crisis, Bigote calls attention to the bizarre day-to-day life of human beings striving for a better tomorrow.
López acknowledges being in a position of privileges due to their current geographic location, which allows them to create somewhat freely. Bigote is a reflection of that privilege and their stance in centering humanity over entertainment; while tracing political parallels of bigotry, between Venezuela’s fascist politics and the oppressive Economic Empires who point an accusatory finger.
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