The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Kim Bartley and Donnacha Ó Briain's Irish documentary began as a portrait of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela. The crew was inside the presidential palace in April 2002 when a coup attempt removed him from office for two days, and the film unexpectedly became a record from within the event. The footage shot in the street and in the palace became the most circulated material from those days. Its method has been seriously disputed: critics argue that shots taken on different days were composited into single incidents, that the order of events was altered and that the other side's record was left out. The directors defended this as ordinary practice in documentary construction. Another documentary was made as a direct reply to it. Who it's for: viewers who follow Latin American politics and arguments about documentary ethics. Who it's not for: anyone expecting a neutral account; the film openly takes a side and cannot be used as a single source.