Román Chalbaud

Román Chalbaud (10 October 1931 – 12 September 2023) was a Venezuelan film director, screenwriter, and prominent playwright. Starting work in television after prestigious training, Chalbaud moved into making films before the industry took off in his home country, returning to theatre where he had been a great success for several years until filmmaking became a viable industry. He served as the president of Venezuela's leading theatre, television, and film organisations.

Early life Born in Mérida on 10 October 1931, Chalboud moved to Caracas with his grandmother at age six, and was seen in the city as a "learning-disabled" "country boy".

Chalbaud was young, "in his adolescence" when he knew he wanted to be a storyteller, but he also had a proclivity towards poetry. His journey to becoming one of his nation's most renowned directors is framed as starting when he would go to a cinema as a teenager and watch films from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema,

After leaving high school, Chalbaud studied for two years at the Teatro Experimental in Caracas, and then studied directing under Lee Strasberg in New York.

Career The director was in his late teens when he was employed in television, whilst writing plays. When working one television job, in the early 1950s, he reported that his group worked from 3 in the afternoon till 9 in the evening, and would then spend time at a brothel. It was during this time that he found inspiration and stories for his play El Pez que Fuma, which he would later make into a film.

Before releasing his first film, Chalbaud had seen enough success in playwriting that he was made the director of the National Theatre of Venezuela in 1958. He left this role the year after the release of Caín adolescente, in 1960.

Though making films in this time, he had been largely focused on theatre. This would change after 1969, when Chalbaud left his president role and when Venezuelan cinema entered its golden age. He did return to television, joining Radio Caracas Television in 1969, but began his most successful line of work in film direction. He was then named President of the ANAC in 1978, and was the Director General of the Fundación Cinemateca Nacional de Venezuela (National Foundation of Venezuelan Cinema) for two years.

Alfonso Molina, in his 2002 book on the director, wrote that one cannot fully understand the socio-political culture of Venezuela without watching Chalbaud's films.

A documentary about his life and work called Román en el universo de las maravillas, produced by Argentinian filmmakers, was released on 17 March 2018 in Altamira, Caracas at the Rómulo Gallegos Center for Latin American Studies.

Personal life The building of the National Theatre of Venezuela, now known as "Teatro Nacional Román Chalbaud".

Chalbaud revealed little personal information until he was quite old, when he said that though he loved the landscape of his home city Mérida, he considered Caracas the place to grow old. His favourite play was El Pez que Fuma.

Chalbaud died in Caracas on 12 September 2023, at age 91. Shortly after his death, the National Theatre of Venezuela was renamed after Chalbaud.

Filmography