In Diego Vicentini’s debut feature, Simón, a Venezuelan freedom fighter seeks political asylum in Miami after protesting against Nicolás Maduro’s regime. Vicentini drew from his own upbringing—he’s a child of Venezuelan immigrants raised in Miami—to write and direct the movie. Like Vicentini, the titular character inhabits the liminal space between feeling guilty about his privileged life abroad and longing to fight for a better life in his homeland. “I never got to be in the streets protesting like other young Venezuelans my age did,” Vicentini tells me. “So making this film was a way for me to join the fight.” Simón was nominated for Best Ibero-American Film in the Spanish Goya Awards and has sold out in theaters in Miami and Madrid and across Latin America. —Carolina de Armas

Simón is also available for streaming on Netflix in Latin America and Spain