COMBATE

COMBAT

By Temistocles LOPEZ

RAYOGRAPH FILMS - as PROD

Documentary - Post-Production 2025


A group of exiled opponents to chavismo in Venezuela, who have endured imprisonment, torture, and persecution, share their experiences, how they won the last elections, and how they are confronting the dictatorship to restore democracy in their country no matter what.

    • Year of production
    • 2025
    • Genres
    • Documentary, Historical, Epic
    • Countries
    • SPAIN, VENEZUELA, USA
    • Languages
    • SPANISH
    • Budget
    • 0.3 - 0.6 M$
    • Duration
    • 114 mn
    • Director(s)
    • Temistocles LOPEZ
    • Writer(s)
    • Temistocles LOPEZ
    • Producer(s)
    • Temistocles LOPEZ (RAYOGRAPH FILMS), Peter CALDERON (RAYOGRAPH FIOLMS), José Antonio HERGUETA
    • Synopsis
    • The most urgent conflict in the Western world is unfolding before our eyes in Venezuela: a military dictatorship led by Maduro and backed by Russia, China, Cuba, and Iran faces off against the democratic opposition led by María Corina Machado and the millions of citizens who voted for a radical change, supported by the US, EU, and democratic governments worldwide. This is the final episode of COMBATE, a documentary tracing 25 years of Chavismo that have led to the crucial last battle for democracy that will decide the destiny of a nation.

      COMBATE is essential viewing for understanding how a country with the world's largest oil reserves, once among the wealthiest nations in the hemisphere, has driven more than 8 million of its citizens into exile, thus illustrating the battle between East and West, Autocracy and Democracy, being waged around the globe.

      The narrators of this saga, from diverse social backgrounds and professions, are parents whose children were brutally murdered, leaders who were imprisoned, tortured, persecuted, and now, from exile, continue the fight on the international stage. Through them unfolds the story of a country that was seduced by a charismatic leader who promised marginalized people a prosperous paradise, just and free of corruption.

      In its beginnings, the humanist ideals presented by "El Commandante" seduced the vast majority of the population. Chávez made the people aware of their legitimate rights. Intellectuals from around the world supported his vision. But that ideal progressively crumbled due to polarization, incompetence, violence, and corruption.

      In the battle for control of Venezuela, the most powerful forces in international geopolitics face off: The United States, The European Union, and more than 50 democracies against the regimes of Cuba, China, Russia, and Iran.

      To help us define the context, we have captured the analysis of historians who clinically examine the inexorable process of a regime that promised a socialist paradise and became a dictatorship that unscrupulously violates human rights, as denounced by the UN, OAS, European Parliament, and the International Criminal Court.**

      Venezuela's future depends on the international community becoming aware of the danger posed by a country harboring powers adverse to democracy. Today, Venezuela is a country from which more than 8 million citizens have been forced to flee, where those who dare to criticize the dictatorship are persecuted, imprisoned, and tortured, and only the "connected ones" can enjoy a "normal" life.

      To better understand why it is urgent to restore democracy in Venezuela, "Combate" offers a show accessible to the general public through a tragic, epic, and moving story. A film that is simultaneously a historical synthesis, a panoramic view of the geopolitical chess game, and an emotional journey to the heart of the tragedy.