François-Xavier Freland, a former correspondent in Venezuela, has not been allowed back into the country since the end of 2016. He met six opponents of Nicolas Maduro’s regime who are living in exile in Europe and Colombia. Political figures, a journalist, an activist in the Resistencia protest movement, a student who suffered brutal oppression, an artist … Their testimonies portray the authoritarianism and the violence of the regime established since 2013 by Hugo Chávez’s successor. Arrests, flights into exile, and assaults sum up this dictatorship which for a long time managed to pass itself off abroad, and not without success, as a exemplary participative democracy.

Devoid of narration, this documentary cross-references these visions and struggles, which in spite of sharing common experiences, are fascinating because of their uniqueness. The film avoids the pitfalls of the investigation genre, shedding light on the context of a regime that has become a machine of oppression, causing separation and sacrifice. François-Xavier Freeland positions himself as the campaigner for millions of suffering Venezuelans who have fled the oppression and violence that have reigned in their country since the start of the Chavist revolution.