Before We Leave Venezuela

Before We Leave Venezuela is a personal journey that follows a young refugee who risks everything by returning home during the height of Venezuela’s national collapse. Wanting to send a message of hope, but needing to confront unfinished business, David Mendez, goes back to climb Venezuela’s highest peak and to tell his family what he couldn’t before he fled. As David prepares for his climb, he is immediately swept up in the life he should have had. His happiness at home is tarnished by the knowledge that he will not be able to stay – and neither will his family. As he embarks on his journey to the top of Pico Bolivar, he reflects on the situation that originally forced him to flee. By confronting it head on, David hopes that his next departure will be on his own terms. David is one of around 4-million Venezuelans struggling through one of today’s worst refugee crisis. His story is a reminder of the dreams they have been forced to put on hold. His mission is to capture the beauty of his country and to remind the world that there is too much at stake to leave Venezuela behind.