Chavez Walks the Red Carpet With Stone in Venice

Oliver Stone made quite a dramatic entrance at the Venice Film Festival on Monday for the premiere of his documentary, “South of the Border”—the director was joined on the red carpet by none other than Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, the subject of his film.  —KA

Telegraph:

Before Mr Chavez arrived in Venice from Turkmenistan, Stone defended [...] the controversial Latin American leader [at] a press conference to launch the documentary film.

“Chavez was elected by popular vote in no fewer than 12 different elections. And Venezuela has seen a clear economic improvement with him,” Stone said.

He added that “South of the Border” was an attempt to combat western views that many Latin American countries were not democratic.

The documentary, he said, was meant “to combat the level of stupidity of the press”.

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AP / Andrew Medichini

President Hugo Chavez, right, of Venezuela salutes the crowd as he arrives with U.S. director Oliver Stone for the screening of the film “South of the Border” at the 66th edition of the Venice Film Festival.