Technical information

Original title: A savana e a montanha
Spanish title: La sabana y la montaña
Running time: 77 min
Genre: Hybrid documentary
Original format: DCP
Origin: Portugal, Uruguay

 

Synopsis

The community of Covas do Barroso, in northern Portugal, discovers that the British company Savannah Resources plans to build the largest open-pit lithium mine in Europe just few meters from their homes. Confronted by this imminent threat, the People decide to organize themselves and expel the company from their lands.

Director’s note

Covas do Barroso is a village near Bostofrio, where my father was born and where I made my first film, Bostofrio, où le ciel rejoint la terre. This geographical and emotional proximity led me to stay attentive to the news since 2018 regarding unclear business dealings aimed at the eventual development of a mining operation in the region, by Savannah Resources, a multinational listed on the London Stock Exchange. To understand the characteristics of a mining operation with the potential to irreversibly alter a mountainous landscape of over 500 hectares, I spoke with geographers, architects, engineers, and, of course, with the people who survive there. It was mainly for the people and the ancestral activities that flourish in Covas do Barroso that I decided to join the fight to defend this way of life. Cinema has a responsibility of involvement that I cannot escape. In my films, I seek to stand alongside people, without being guided by economic or speculative policies of those who do not know or live in the territory.

Crew

Direction: Paulo Carneiro
Screenplay: Paulo Carneiro and Alex Piperno
Production houses: Bam Bam Cinema (Pt), La Pobladora Cine (Uy)
Production:  Paulo Carneiro, Alex Piperno
Cinematography: Duarte Domingos
Editing: Magdalena Schinca, Paulo Carneiro, Alex Piperno
Direct sound: Ricardo Leal
Sound Design and Mixing: Daniel Yafalián
Music: Carlos Libo, Diego Placeres
Title Design: Luciano Scherer
VFX Supervision: Gridboy, Mariana Franco
Color and Deliveries: Juan Álvarez Neme
Sales agent: Portugal Film

Cast

Carlos Libo
Paulo Sanchez
Daniel Loureiro
Aida Fernandes

Supports

Lisbon Screenings – IndieLisboa
Arché DocLisboa (RTP Award  – Best film WIP)
Mostra de València Mediterranean Coproduction Forum 2022
Programa Uruguay Audiovisual – Producciones Nacionales
ICAU Posicionamiento internacional

Festivals

Director’s Fortnight, Cannes Film Festival, France
Fema La Rochelle, France
FilmFest Hamburg, Germany
Seminci Valladolid International Film Festival, Spain
Mostra São Paulo, Brazil
Pingyao Film Festival, China
Bergen Film Festival, Norway
Athens Film Festival, Greece
Fifigrot, France Festival Gindou, France
Douarnenez Film Festival, France
FIDBA, International Documentary Film Festival Buenos Aires, Argentina
Lima Alterna International Film Festival, Peru
Lugano Human Rights Film Festival, Switzerland
Astra Film Festival, Romania
Cineuropa – Santiago de Compostela, Spain