"Venezuelan cinema for the world," Chavez announced during his weekly address to the people of Venezuela.

He went on to call the move a 'cultural revolution' -- an unfortunate choice of words considering what happened in China's past under that banner.

Chavez took aim at Hollywood, whose output is massively popular in Venezuela.

"They make us admire Superman, Spiderman," said Chavez.

The new studio -- named Cinema Villa -- will attempt to popularise heroes more conducive to the ideology of the socialist regime.

Cinema Villa is intended to bring about a 'transformation of the cultural hegemony,' according to studio head Lorena Almarza.

The first film released by the studio will be a biopic on the life of Francisco de Miranda, a hero of Venezuelan independence -- left-wing Hollywood actor Danny Glover appears in a supporting role.

Future productions include a movie about Luis Posada Carriles, a former CIA operative accused of masterminding an airplane bombing as well as an attempted assasination of Fidel Castro.

Chavez has argued for some time that the US should extradite Posada to Venezuela for trial on these charges.

"The film argues he should be condemned and returned here to Venezuela or to Cuba to be tried for his actions," said Eduardo Barberena, director of the upcoming film.

The new studio has been critcised already for 'putting political slogans above the quality of their productions' by Professor Antonio Pascuali of Venezuela's Central University

But Barbarena is keen to point out that his Posada biopic 'allows a bit of freedom for him to defend himself.'

Posada himself is unlikely to get that opportunity in a court.

After escaping from prison in 1985, he eventually made his way to the US.

Although he was tried for illegally entering the US, the charges were eventually dismissed.

On the matter of his extradition, a tribunal found that he should stay in the US as there was a reasonable expectation that he would be tortured in Cuba or Venezuela.