Venezuelan Action Film “BLINDADO” Opens in Neighbor Colombia

 

It is not a secret that the political turmoil in Venezuela has forced some 5 million people to flee the country looking for safer places to live.  People of all walks of life and backgrounds such as doctors, teachers, actors, nurses, and professionals of all fields including filmmakers have fled the nation since president Nicolas Maduro took office in 2013. Director Carlos Malave is one of those many Venezuelans who had no choice but to leave in order to seek better conditions for his family and to be able to continue doing what he loves the most: making movies. 

“Blindado” (Steel Clad in English) is his latest production and comes after years of planning, postponing, re-planning and postponing yet again until conditions were ideal to finally shoot this fascinating and thrilling flick. Based on a story Malave read on a newspaper (“Armored truck was assailed and robbed by thugs”), the film focuses on “Eloy” (Alexander Dasilva), a rookie who’s set up by fellow cops under the very corrupted Mayor’s orders (William Goyte) to drive an armored truck that carries $12 million. Things don’t go as planned and get even messier when “Frank D’Acero” (Carlos Antonio Leon), the Truck Company’s CEO and the Mayor’s sidekick, offers a reward for the assumed robber unleashing a desperate run and hunt. Ironically, the only one on Eloy’s side is the Chief of Police (Jose Roberto Diaz) who tries to solve the plot the best he can but is unaware that even his superior, the Governor (Socrates Serrano) is involved. Can Eloy and the Chief survived such politically rotten system? 

The film had its world premiere at the Action on Film Film Festival in Las Vegas where was nominated for “Best Foreign Movie,” “Action Film of the Year,” and won for “Breakthrough Action Star” (DaSilva). On November 22nd the film was widely released in all Venezuelan theatres to rave reviews from critics and the public. Now it will open in several cities of Colombia such as Bogota, Medellin, Cali, Cucuta and Tolima, a huge step for director Malave to have one of his films opening in a foreign nation. The film is expected to continue its run (starting February 27th) through other Colombian cities and even other South American countries and the Caribbean. “Blindado” is also one the very few films pre-selected for the “Platino Awards” which will be held in Cancun, Mexico next May. 

You can keep up with all things “Blindado” by following their pages on IG and Facebook @blindadofilm 

Hopefully the film would be also shown in the USA soon. 

Film’s Director Carlos Malave