Cinemateca paid homage to Asdrúbal Meléndez with the screening of “El cine soy yo”

Published at: 04/11/2025 09:59 AM

The National Cinemateca Foundation (FCN) commemorated the life and legacy of the renowned Venezuelan actor and artist Asdrúbal Meléndez with a special screening of the film El Cine Soy Yo (1977), the first fictional feature film by filmmaker Luis Armando Roche.

During the event, the president of the FCN, Vladimir Sosa Sarabia, highlighted Meléndez's deep connection with the institution. “It's strange not to see Asdrúbal, he was a colleague of the Cinemateca, and it's very significant to remember him with the film work that most identifies a great man and most by the hand of Armando Roche,” he said.

He also recognized the commendable work of Marie Françoise Roche in restoring the filmmaker's legacy and thanked the FCN Film Archive team for keeping the original 35mm film safe and secure.

For his part, Roche highlighted that El cine soy yo “perpetuates the memory of Asdrúbal Meléndez” and shared that he assumed his restoration as a personal commitment. “Luis Armando made 22 documentaries about Venezuela, and this film is the fruit of that journey. Asdrúbal embodied the typical Venezuelan character who always reinvents himself; I deeply admire those Venezuelans who seek solutions and move forward,” he said.

The tribute included the words of Manuel Fernández, Meléndez's nephew, who thanked the FCN for the tribute. “The family is very happy to remember their first feature film. For us, this film is a personal and family milestone. Asdrúbal deeply loved Venezuela and its people, and this film reflects that essence. If anyone reinvented himself many times in his life, it was him,” he said.

Mazo News Team