Donald Myerston

Directing

Donald Myerston

Born July 1, 1945 · Caracas, Venezuela

Died July 23, 2026 · aged 81

Director, screenwriter, editor and producer of radio, film, video, theater and TV since 1965. Founding member of the Department of Film at the University of Los Andes, and a key figure of the New Latin American Cinema movement.

Known For

DiamantesDiamantes · 1969
Diamantes
1969
MovieDocumentary
Diamantes, short produced by the ULA, registered the birth of a new town: San Salvador de Paul, the arrival of new residents, farmers who ventured in search of riches, merchants, gamblers, prostitutes, all trying to snatch the momentary wealth of those who discovered the mineral, typical image of underdevelopment.
Enough!Enough! · 1969
Enough!
9.01969
Movie
“Through the use of violent symbols (loosely associated with Artaud’s notion of cruelty), some of the consequences of the current social organization in Latin-America are exposed: the alienation, marginalization and reification of men, and the continuous presence of imperialism, considered as rape.” (UU)
ManzanitaManzanita · 1978
Manzanita
1978
MovieAnimation
Based on a story by Julio Garmendia. Animation about the inferiority complex suffered by the native apple when faced to imported apples.
RenovaciónRenovación · 1969
Renovación
10.01969
MovieDocumentary
In 1969, a wave of discontent swept through Latin American universities. In Venezuela, students set out to fundamentally renew the concept and criteria of teaching. This is their story.
Puros hombresPuros hombres · 1977
Puros hombres
7.01977
MovieDramaHistory
During the dictatorial regime of Juan Vicente Gómez, the bachelor Ibarra is imprisoned for political conspiracy. In prison, the inmates live together remembering the events that led to their imprisonment. Finally, a group, led by the bachelor Ibarra, manages to carry out a plan to escape from the prison.
Caño MánamoCaño Mánamo · 1983
Caño Mánamo
6.41983
MovieDocumentary
A documentary about the building of a damn near Caño Mánamo and the effects it has on the environment.
La autonomía ha muertoLa autonomía ha muerto · 1969
La autonomía ha muerto
1969
MovieDocumentary
In 1969, the Renovación Universitaria movement and the subsequent raid on the Central University of Venezuela by the government of Rafael Caldera, triggered a strong wave of protest in the Institutes of Higher Education in Venezuela. This documentary collects part of the events that took place in the city of Mérida, Mérida State, where the University of the Andes is located.
KaporitoKaporito · 2021
Kaporito
2021
MovieAnimation
In an area of ​​the Andes, some peasants who hunt for pleasure kill a Frontinian bear and its partner, orphaning a little bear (Kaporito) that faces persecution by hunters. Kaporito is protected by the rest of the animals and other characters in nature. Animals wage a kind of guerilla warfare to defend themselves and their habitat.

Filmography

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Coup at DaybreakCoup at Daybreak · 1998
Coup at Daybreak
6.81998
MovieDramaAction
The film follows the events of the night of February 4, 1992 in Caracas, Venezuela. That night a group of military rebels staged a coup d'etat. Venezuelans found themselves as virtual prisoners. As the coup starts and fighting takes place from a military base which is in the center of the city's most affluent areas, with both luxury high rises and palatial mansions. The area of La Carlota provides a wealth of very interesting, often flamboyant and typical characters of the Latin America upper middle and upper classes. They are among the most affected. Various vignettes in these different characters' homes are developed. These people's reactions, lifestyles, vices, and humanity come out in a very honest fashion under duress.

Producer

CubaguaCubagua · 1987
Cubagua
8.51987
MovieFantasyHistory
Based on the novel by Venezuelan writer Enrique Bernardo Núñez, the film tells the story of engineer Leiziaga discovering his historical doubles in the context of the colonization of the island of Cubagua in Venezuela. In this way, two stories are intertwined: one that takes place in the 16th century and another in the 20th century. The first story focuses on the life of the Spanish settlers who arrived in Cubagua and the exploitation of the indigenous peoples for pearl extraction; the second story, set in the 1920s, tells of Leiziaga's archaeological expedition, financed by a multinational oil company, in which he visits the island to study the ruins of the Spanish settlement, which leads him to reflect on the passage of time and the destruction caused by human exploitation, and through a game of mirrors, to realize the relationships between the past, present and future.

Producer