- Welcome to Independent Lens.
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
Tonight, we take a trip to turbulent Venezuela,
where three young music students strive for a better life
through their love of classical music
in the documentary Children of Las Brisas.
The film follows Edixon, Dissandra, and Wuilly,
three young students who reside in the crime-infested area
of Las Brisas, located outside the city of Valencia,
a location that makes their journeys to get out
that much more difficult.
The three subjects navigate their way
through a crumbling society with the help of El Sistema,
a music program founded by legendary Jos� Antonio Abreu,
who believed, "Music transmits the highest values--
solidarity, harmony, mutual compassion."
El Sistema has many success stories
and has been a staple of Venezuelan culture for decades.
Children of Las Brisas is directed by Marianela Maldonado.
This particular film is ambitious
and takes place over the course of ten years, 2009-2019.
And if she, her crew, and three leading actors
didn't have enough to contend with,
the setting of Venezuela provided added drama
with the death of leader Hugo Chavez,
a crashing economy, and general despair.
Maldonaldo has a background in narrative shorts,
one of which, "Peter and the Wolf," won an Oscar.
Her films have won a host of awards
and played in just about every film festival there is.
She has received high praise from critics
for Children of Las Brisas,
one of which said of Maldonaldo's film,
"She manages the rare feat
of combining the intimate and the panoramic."
Tonight, we not only witness marvelous filmmaking,
but see firsthand the power of the documentary.
Without these storytellers and their cameras,
how else would we learn about how music offered closure
after the loss of siblings,
a safe space from street violence,
and a literal escape from a life trapped in a religious cult.
Children of Las Brisas starts now on PBS Wisconsin,
your home for independent film.