Natalia Molina and other members of La Minka, a Chavista collective, run a revolutionary bakery in the Venezuelan capital. They have been occupying the shop in Caracas since March 2017 in an attempt to provide their local community with affordable food.
The Breadmaker tells the story of how they have managed to keep the bakery running for two years and, in turn, keep their socialist dreams alive despite economic meltdown.
Film-makers were granted exclusive access to the group to document their work, activism, families – and the expression of resistance Molina finds in dance – to help shine a light on a community struggling to survive.
The Breadmaker’s director, Susy Peña, is a sociologist and film-maker. She hails from a working-class family in Caracas and was the producer and director of the country’s first feminist daily TV show. Peña, who moved to the UK in 2008, is eager to document the political turmoil engulfing Venezuela. She says women are underrepresented in the mainstream media and aims to work with women as her central characters.
Coming up: The Trial
The Trial, a documentary centred on the military commission in Guantánamo, follows a legal team defending one of five men accused of planning the 9/11 attacks.
Documentary news
We recommend a couple of rare screenings in London of the festival hit Home Games. The film is set in Kiev, where 20-year-old Alina dreams of making the national women’s football team. But there are significant obstacles in her way, not least the fact that her ex-con mother has left her in charge of her young brother and sister.
Her alcoholic father is no help, despite his presence in her crowded flat. But Alina is buoyed by the women in her life – her careworn grandmother and best friend, Nadya – and her love for her siblings. We showcased a shorter version of this compelling film in October 2017.
Meanwhile, Bertha DocHouse in central London is screening América, a tender tale of three brothers caring for their vivacious 93-year-old grandmother in Mexico.
Elsewhere, as the Oscars approach, the five nominees for the best documentary feature award are screening across the UK, so do check them out at your local cinema.
Finally, a reminder that the Guardian documentary Black Sheep has been nominated at the Academy Awards – watch it now if you haven’t already.
