FILM SCREENINGS

They Come for the Gold, They Come for It All

2010. Argentina/Chile. Directed by Cristián Harbaruk, Pablo D'Aló Abbá. In Argentine Patagonia, the Canadian company Meridian Gold was granted mineral rights to a mountain located seven kilometers from the town of Esquel. To extract the rich veins of silver and gold, the company used huge amounts of water and cyanide, a practice that strongly polarized opinions in the town. With 50 percent of the population living below the poverty limit, the mining enterprise appeared to be a financial boon, leading politicians to talk about “progress and civilization.” But the townspeople collected signatures opposing the mine, claiming that, as one man puts it, "Gold sustains oppression, hunger, and destruction of the people." Coming down firmly on the side of environmental activists, this exhaustively researched documentary chronicles the epic victory of a little town defeating huge political and economical powers to make informed choices about their own futures. In Spanish; English subtitles. 87 min.