Choropampa, The Price of Gold ( Spanish: Choropampa, el precio del oro) is a 2002 Peruvian documentary film written and directed by Ernesto Cabellos and Stephanie Boyd in their directorial debut. [1] The film tells of the struggle of the local Choropampa community to protect themselves from the large-scale exploitation of a gold mine. [2] [3]
A devastating mercury spill by the world's richest gold mining corporation transforms a quiet peasant village in Peru's Andean mountains into a hot bed of civil resistance. A courageous young mayor emerges to lead his people on a quest for healthcare and justice. But powerful interests conspire to thwart the villagers at every turn in this 2-year epic chronicle of the real price of gold. [4]
Robert Koehler of Variety wrote: "In the best tradition of docu cinema, Choropampa, The Price of Gold expands on the immediate events it covers -- the aftermath of a June 2000 spill of toxic mercury in the Peruvian gold-mining town of Choropampa -- to ask larger questions about corporate and government responsibility in Third World regions rich in natural resources but poor in material wealth". [5]
Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | Mar del Plata Film Festival | OCIC Cinematographic Post-Production Award | Choropampa, The Price of Gold | Won | [6] |
2003 | Prague One World Film Festival | Rudolf Vrba Award | Choropampa, The Price of Gold | Won | |
Valladolid International Film Festival | Best Documentary | Choropampa, The Price of Gold | Nominated |