Belgium-Germany-Netherlands
2009/35mm/109mins
THURSDAY 5 NOVEMBER 8.30 PM – Dendy
Set in Peruvian Andes, this is a lavishly stylised art-house tale of local people battling a mining company that appears to have caused a plague of strange illnesses.
Belgian doctor Max is working in a rural clinic in Peru with his wife Grace recovering from the shock of a photography assignment in Iraq. As a strange sickness spreads through the town, local bride-to-be Saturina (Magaly Solier) finds herself at the forefront of a battle against a mining company, with Max and Grace caught in the middle. Directors Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth centre the drama on the two women from either side of the world, and lyrically explore themes of loss, grief and the power of the image. It’s a fascinating, moving and visually unusual piece of filmmaking.
Cannes Film Festival selected Critics Week
Sydney Film Festival selected in Competition
“Cinematographer Francisco Gozon captures breathtaking images of piercing blue waters, snow-covered mountains and some religious rituals that are part of daily life.” SCREEN INTERNATIONAL
“images so finely crafted that they evoke the paintings of Vermeer. An absolute visual poem” Critikat.com
“The eminently tragic story is expressed with beauty and lyricism by the directors… The film imposes a style, a beauty, a dignity on one of the greatest problems of our times: the powerful destruction of a civilization through exploitation.” CANNES ECUMENICAL JURY
“the explosion of colours, the elegant camerawork, the striking, surreal tableaux. The film works on political, emotional and mythic levels – an accomplishment.” The Brag WordPress
Writer/Directors Peter Brosens, Jessica Hope Woodworth Producer Heino Deckert
Cast Magaly Solier, Jasmin Tabatabai, Olivier Gourmet Print Source Meridiana Films London UK
