'Venezuela: The Cost of Challenging an Empire' (2024) is a documentary film by Rodrigo Acuña and Nicholas Ford about the price of U.S. economic sanctions on the South American country of Venezuela and the people that they have affected most. Through a series of interviews with academics, journalists, members of the government and opposition, this film also looks at political violence in the country.

"The word 'sanctions' is an abstraction that cannot explain the monstrosity of preventable deaths and manufactured hunger. Acuña and Ford talk to the Venezuelans who have been struggling under these sanctions" - Justin Podur, Professor, York University and co-author (with Joe Emersberger) of 'Extraordinary Threat: The US Empire, the Media, and Twenty Years of Coup Attempts in Venezuela' (2021)

★★★★★

"Profoundly moving. A well-researched-documentary." - Pilar Aguilera, Chairperson of 3CR Community Radio

★★★★

"A necessary documentary for these historical moments of Venezuela, and the greater homeland of Latin America, since it shows what unilateral sanctions mean. The interviews with women are particularly powerful and that makes me proud as a Venezuelan woman," - Maruvi Leonett Villaquiran, Venezuelan filmaker

★★★★

6pm Saturday December 6th

The Wildflower Picture House & Bar
318 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North

Tickets: $20/$15 concession - all funds go to film production costs

This documentary was produced through crowd funding by the community and expenses from producers.

Hosted by:

Red Spark
Against capitalist imperialism, we organise to defend people and planet. Red Spark is re-establishing the revolutionary Marxist tradition in Australia.

Latin American Solidarity Network (LASNET)
The Latin American Solidarity Network (LASNET) is an independent and inclusive group of people working in solidarity with Latin American grassroots movements and its struggles.