AmDocs 2019 – Quimsacocha
This short documentary tells the story of two indigenous locals of Quimsacocha in Ecuador, struggling to protect their land from large corporate Canadian mining companies.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Émilie Martel
Watch Quimsacocha on VUCAVU
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I wanted Canadians and other people around the world to learn and see how Canadian mining companies operate in Latin America. As a Canadian myself, before I began studying these impacts, I was very unaware that this was happening. By informing myself, I am able to make better decisions when it comes to my personal finances and make sure I do not contribute to mining stocks. I felt that if more Canadians learn about this, we could keep our governments accountable for the damages and pain we cause to frontline communities and for the harmful environmental impacts mining creates.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
My film is character-driven and very subtle. It’s a moving portrait of two individuals living in small towns in Southern Ecuador. We use cinematography to show why the area is worth protecting. The film is informative and also personal. By the end of the film, you really feel for these characters, and cheer for their cause.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I think right now, humanity is at a crossroad and people are acknowledging that industries and corporations and humans can’t continue to operate in the same way they have been doing. Climate change and fresh scarcity are real challenges that humans will have to face in the next few decades if we don’t change our way of living.
My short film explores my character’s reality and it’s very personal, but the struggle of my characters is universal. Thousands of frontlines and usually indigenous communities are learning from other indigenous communities around the world how to organize themselves to protect their lands and win against these giant multinational companies. Non-indigenous have a lot to learn from their resilience and the struggle they undergo on a daily basis.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
A lot. I had many other 'characters' involved in the film, but we made a decision to only focus on the story of three people.
In the beginning, I thought that my audience needed to understand the entire complex mining situation. Who was this Canadian company INV Metal? How were they allowed mining the top of the mountain? Experts and activists explained all the different facets of this mining issue; however, it wasn't personal. I also have to add that I financed the entire film and for a long time, I was doing this project by myself. I filmed this film over the course of two years more or less. I was a first-time director and I didn't have a clear vision of the finished film at the very beginning, which was a big problem when it came to editing the project. Months after I finished shooting, I still had to find a way to tell this story with the footage I had. The story was complex and I didn't know where to start.
When my producer Richa came on board, she really insisted that we go back to the drawing board. How can we make this film personal? How can we make the audience care about this struggle? What were the two-three best aspects of my film? That's when we chose to make the film shorter than what I originally intended and to only tell the story of the local people. The area where I filmed was also beautiful, so the village and nature also became almost like another character. I think by cutting all the extra information we had and only making this film only about locals, how they live, their fears, made the audience understand and see their struggle. And that worked!
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We received incredible support from the communities involved in the film and the activists working to protect Quimsacocha. The main feedback I have is definitely about the cinematography and how beautiful the environment was where I shot in. This is a gift because immediately, my audience can relate and understand why these local are standing up against these mining corporations and why the area is worth protecting.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We are definitely looking to screen at more festivals around the world and get our story out there. We also hope to find a distributor to help us distribute our film in universities and school, and use this film as a learning tool.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We would love to get film festival directors to know about our film and get our film screening at more festivals around the world. We are also looking for sales agents, buyers and distributors to buy our film so it can screen in universities and gatherings around Ecuador, North America and Europe. The struggle to protect Quimsacocha is very little known; therefore we are also looking for journalists to amplify our film's message.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Right now, the fight to save Quimsacocha is going really well. They had a referendum a few weeks ago and the community won. INV Metals will not be mining Quimsacocha as they originally planned in the foreseeable future. However, the struggle is never really over. If INV Metals walks away today, who knows if another mining company tries to mine in the future. Maybe the Ecuadorian government will change in five years, and another one will decide to allow mining. The gold and copper will always be there, and the community will always have to be the guardians of this mountain.
I want non-indigenous people to be aware of how these mining companies are affecting people's lives. And maybe, this will also make them sensitive in researching their own finances. Are they currently investing in mining stocks? If they are, do they know that this is affecting these local peoples? Do they know how much harm their investments are causing?
Second, I want other frontline communities to see this film and relate and bond with the communities of Quimsacocha. Similar struggles are undergoing everywhere in the world and I truly believe these short personal films can really connect people around the world. We live in a global world, and I think that we can really use this to our advantage and fight against these transnational mining companies.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
We know that water scarcity is a real threat to human existence. So why are companies still allowed to mine and operate in areas where it can endanger these waterways?
Would you like to add anything else?
Thank you for sharing and talking about this film!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I am currently working on a feature documentary called Uproot about a man’s mission to save endangered primates in Ecuador's iconic Yasuní National Park. Alongside Upoot, I am also directing and producing a children's series about the Metis people in Canada and a biographical documentary about a Canadian citizenship judge and francophone ambassador Suzanne Pinel.
Interview: April 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Quimsacocha
This short documentary tells the story of two indigenous locals of Quimsacocha in Ecuador, struggling to protect their land from large corporate Canadian mining companies.
Length: 8:13
Director: Émilie Martel
Producer: Richa Sanwal, Émilie Martel
Writer: Émilie Martel
About the writer, director and producer:
ÉMILIE MARTEL is a Canadian filmmaker and founder of Kannon Films based in Ottawa, Ontario. She is currently directing Uproot, a feature documentary about a man's mission to save endangered primates in Ecuador's legendary Yasuni National Park, and Marie-Soleil, which received a development grant from the 2019 Hot Docs Cross Current Documentary Funds. She is also directing and producing a francophone educational children series, which is scheduled to broadcast in December 2019. Émilie received the 2018 Canadian Women Artists’ Award from NYSCA and in 2019, she was a recipient of the Youth Media Alliance Thérèse-Pinho Scholarship.
RICHA SANWAL specializes in documentary filmmaking and broadcast journalism. She graduated from the Master program at NYU, majoring in TV news and documentary filmmaking. Her documentary on skin color discrimination in India, In All Fairness, screened at various film festivals including DOC NYC. She has also produced and reported on stories for Al Jazeera America, Yahoo!, ABC, Newsweek in New York. Richa is now based in Mumbai and freelancing as a video journalist.
Looking for: distributors, film festival directors, buyers
Facebook: Émilie Martel
Twitter: @em_martel
Instagram: @ emiliamartel
Hashtags used: #Quimsacocha; #Quimsacochafilm
Website: www.emiliemartel.com
Other: IMDb
Made in association with: Kannon Films
Funders: Self-funded
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? TBA