César Valenzuela (Caracas, 1989) is a political philosopher, performance artist, and filmmaker creating dialogues between theater, film, and political theory. Currently, they are a PhD candidate in Philosophy at Stanford University, where they are writing a dissertation on global warming and democracy. Their experience as a queer, Venezuelan immigrant has motivated them to put political action and social identity in the forefront of their research and art practice. Both their artistic work and philosophical research interrogate the limits and possibilities of political action: how ought we to transform our political reality and tackle the climate crises, systemic oppressions, and AI expansion?

Before coming to the Bay Area in 2019, César practiced as an actor, poet, and editor in a variety of artistic projects in Caracas and Paris. At Stanford, they have focused on developing their interests in democratic theory, applied ethics, and philosophy of race, and integrating movement into their theater background.

César also holds a B.A. and an M.A. in philosophy from the universities Sorbonne and Panthéon-Sorbonne, respectively, and studied Communications (B.A., Universidad Central de Venezuela) and French Literature (M.A., Sorbonne). This interdisciplinary journey has allowed them to incorporate poetry, different languages, and film into their artistic work.