Surreal and multi-faceted, ORINOKO presents a speechless vision of the history of Venezuela and the Orinoco River basin before and after conquest. Among the participating figures are Europeans such as Columbus, Walter Raleigh, and Alexander von Humboldt, but seen through the eyes of the indigenous peoples whose lives were upended by colonization.

“ORINOKO inverts the logic seen in illustrations that appear in books documenting the expeditions of the 16th century, such as those by Theodor de Bry, whose frontispieces featured images of indigenous people. The frontispieces of ORINOKO feature the colonizers and their myths. America, represented in the form of its landscape (the Amazonian jungle), collects European myths and objects. Conceptual art, performance, and Super 8 reverse the structures of power, giving us an image of Europe as seen from America.” –Isabel Arredondo, “The Performative in Venezuelan Experimental Film,” from ISM, ISM, ISM: EXPERIMENTAL CINEMA IN LATIN AMERICA