The largest mining dam burst in Brazil’s history, in the region of Minas Gerais, reveals a large number of regional dams at risk of failure, threatening the lives of residents. Neither the government nor the mining company take responsibility; instead, they continue mining the land, dismissing the devastating risks to the population. Those in the surviving villages go through routine drills, hoping they will survive the next dam breach—yet they know they would not survive such a disaster and would be buried under the mud. The heroic residents of the region band together to fight for justice, and Teca, an activist and the lone citizen representative on the state’s environmental council, continues protesting the dams without seeing results. A David-versus-Goliath story of territorial conflict that exposes the layers that perpetuate a post-colonial state in this life-or-death fight. Lucila Moctezuma
Streaming online May 5-9. Streaming is only available in Canada.