DAUGHTER OF THE LAKE

At the height of the Peruvian gold rush, an Andean woman able to communicate with water spirits uses her powers to prevent a mining corporation from destroying the lake she considers to be her mother.

ERNESTO CABELLOS DAMIÁN

 

Was born in Lima, Peru in 1968. In 1994, he founded Guarango, a documentary filmmakers association. Ernesto has produced and directed the feature documentary feature films “Choropampa” (2002), and “Tambogrande” (2007), in collaboration with Canadian director Stephanie Boyd. He also produced “The Devil Operation” (2010) with Boyd. These award-winning films chronicle over 10 years of conflict between communities and mining companies in Peru. In 2009 Ernesto made “Coo- king up Dreams”, a portrait of Peruvian society shown through its gastronomy.Ernesto’s documen- taries have been selected in more than 150 international film festivals, obtaining 35 awards and distinctions, and broadcast on international television channels.

• Hot Docs Film Festival, Canada 2015
• Mar del Plata Film Festival, Argentina 2015

This film was born in July 2012. I was on a family trip to Spain, when I learned about the brutal detention of my friend and one of my previous film’s protagonists, Father Marco Arana. He was in his hometown of Cajamarca, , sitting in the main square with a poster, pacifically protesting against a gold mine project that was threatening the region’s water sources. In front of everyone, the police beat him up and arrested him. I was shocked. I wanted to help, but I was too far away.

 

That night, watching videos on YouTube that people had shot with their cell phones, I found one that really impressed me. In that video, a woman approached a policeman asking why they were arresting Marco and using violence against peaceful demonstrators. The policeman, looking at the camera, shouted: “Because you’re fucking dogs! That’s why.” That’s why I felt compelled to make this film. Those “fucking dogs” are my friends and allies and I think they have a vision of the world that needs to be portrayed with respect. We all can learn a lot from them. Then Marco led me to Nelida, the main character of the film.

Main Competition 2016