The film Simón strikes a deep chord through an exploration of migratory guilt and the loss of roots and the trauma of repression. Venezuelan director Diego Vicentini’s debut feature — which ranked in Netflix’s top 10 for weeks — follows a young student who, during his application for asylum in the United States, relives the most painful moments of his journey against the Venezuelan government.
The film, based on several true stories of young Venezuelans victims of arbitrary imprisonment and torture, is also available on simonmovie.com. But, first, delve with us into the making, distribution, screening and reception with us as Diego Vicentini speaks to Global Comment to reflect on the events surrounding the film.
Why was it important for you to tell Simón’s story and not from another angle?
From the beginning, it was always clear that this was not a movie that I could film in Venezuela because of the dangers that implied, and the fear from anybody who would participate in this movie would be in danger of persecution, potentially, while we filmed the movie. So, it was never an option to film it in Venezuela… Just from that production standpoint, it was already forcing me in a way to tell the story from outside Venezuela.
And then, when I had to choose who was going to be my main character, for me it was always obvious that the people that I wanted to honor, that I wanted to give a voice to, would be those that… well, let’s say my generation, but there’s been many generations, but it’s the youth. The youth is always the ones that go to the front lines, who risk their lives, are the first to go out to the streets, and I wanted to honor them and to make sure that their sacrifice isn’t left, isn’t forgotten.
It’s striking that, in every screening, you have found Venezuelan victims of torture. Can you tell us about this?
I was able to travel a lot with the movie doing screenings in Spain and all through Latin America. And yeah, it was very surprising that in every screening I did, when we got to the Q&A, there would always be somebody that would stand up or raise their hand and share with everybody that they had been imprisoned and tortured. Some for a couple days, some for months. And that was really devastating to go country after country, Argentina, Chile, Panama, Mexico, Madrid, and just see how common this was.
Obviously, there’s a beauty of being able to show your work and share with audiences. But that was particularly hard to see the depth of the damage and trauma that has been caused by what this dictatorship has done and see how common it is. That was really disheartening… And it just made making this movie so much more worth it, and just motivates me more and more to keep trying to get this movie seen, because this has happened to way too many people.
The youth is always the ones that go to the front lines, who risk their lives, are the first to go out to the streets, and I wanted to honor them and to make sure that their sacrifice isn’t left, isn’t forgotten.
Censorship is an ever-present issue in Venezuela, what was it like for Simón?
Since I started writing the movie, I expected that it would be censored, meaning it wouldn’t be allowed to play in movie theaters in Venezuela. That was kind of like the neutral expectation that I almost felt was obvious. Nevertheless, we did want to at least apply to try to get the certificate of nationality of the movie, because if we had the certificate of nationality that would mean we could potentially represent the country in international awards… And also technically, if you’re a Venezuelan film, you have the right to be in movie theaters for at least two weeks.
It just made making this movie so much more worth it, and just motivates me more and more to keep trying to get this movie seen, because this has happened to way too many people
We also thought they wouldn’t even give us that certificate, but we didn’t want to self-censor ourselves… It was a process where they asked for things that they didn’t need to ask for, but we just had all the proper documentation.
And then eventually, to our surprise, they gave us the certificate of nationality with the little detail that in that certificate, they put that we may be in violation of the law against hatred and peaceful cohabitation of Article 20, which basically means the possibility of 10 to 20 years of jail, of being imprisoned for the content of the movie. So that was like the first warning or the big warning saying because that Article 20 is once you show the movie.
Two days before the premiere date, there was news that a lawyer had filed a lawsuit that we were inciting against violence or something. And that news kind of like blew up. But then, you know, there was no real consequence to it.
Why do you think the government allowed the film to be shown in Venezuelan theaters?
There’s a lot of speculation as to why the government allowed the movie to play. Here’s my take, which is just my perspective: in the two years prior, the average attendance of moviegoers to see Venezuelan films in Venezuela in movie theaters was just 5,000 people. So, my interpretation was that the government thought that, rather than censoring the film, not even letting it play in movie theaters — obviously, we would denounce it, and then that would get a lot of press because it’s a movie that’s being censored. I think the dictatorship thought it was probably less convenient to do that and stir news up and just let it play… the economy has collapsed; nobody can afford to go to the movies…
I think the bet was let’s just ignore it. Don’t even mention it. Don’t talk about it. Let them premiere it. And what? 5,000 people will see it. Not really a big deal…
I think the surprise was that… about 121,000 people went to go see the movie in the theaters in Venezuela. That was definitely a massive surprise, including for us.
Also you have to consider international factors, what the dictatorship is doing at that moment, where its interests lie, if it’s wanting to lessen the sanctions, the international sanctions.
So, it wouldn’t really benefit them to show clear signs of dictatorship and repression.
Going to the premiere in Venezuela wasn’t easy either. Did you feel threatened or unsafe while you visited Venezuela with the film?
I decided to go to Venezuela to show the movie in that film festival… the movie hadn’t been seen anywhere. So, we did have already, let’s say, the threat or the warning of the law against hate and the possible jail time. But the movie hadn’t been seen yet.
I was very nervous. And then the press conference the day after was a lot of government presence and press. And all the questions were kind of pressuring and attacking the film and its premise and everything.
That experience, it was definitely stressful and nerve wracking. And your life could have really changed for the worse. But I’m really glad that I went and I accompanied the movie… I think it was definitely important to do it.
I was really touched by the bravery of people that aren’t related to the film
The visit had to be shortened as well
We decided to leave early, basically based on a recommendation from somebody there we trusted that told us to leave the country as soon as we could before anything could happen. And we followed that advice… But, yeah, definitely there was fear. And we know from people at the festival and the judges that they were fearful to choose the movie as the best picture, but they did it anyway. So, I was really touched by the bravery of people that aren’t related to the film.
I hadn’t gone back to the country in 14 years and now I definitely think I can’t go back. But at least I got to step there, [for the] last time before, I guess, before I finally get to go back for real once everything changes.
Venezuelans resonate with the film (and we all cried when we saw it) but how has the film been received by people of other nationalities?
The movie works or it’s doing something right, and not just because it’s about Venezuela and it’s meaningful to us as Venezuelans. The movie has something to say to those that aren’t Venezuelan too.
So, it’s been really beautiful and meaningful to always hear the feedback of non-Venezuelans and we get a lot of messages from on Instagram and elsewhere of just random people sending us messages like: ‘Oh hi, I’m from Chile, I’m not Venezuelan but your movie really made me feel this and that and I wish there was some way I can help, let me know if there’s any way, I can help your country.’
The movie has something to say to those that aren’t Venezuelan too
So that’s been beautiful to hear, sort of the informational side of it and the empathy side that the movie’s transmitting. It’s generating empathy but it’s also just simply informing people of something they didn’t really understand or know a lot or anything about before watching the movie, and that’s been really valuable.
Image of Diego Vicentini by NoonIcarus, image of film by Simon movie
