When Clouds Clear (2008)

• 68%
• 2008
• Documentary
• Danielle Bernstein
• Anne Slick

When Clouds Clear delves into one remote community's radical resistance to a proposed copper mine that would level and destroy their way of life forever. Set in the isolated cloud forests of the northern Andes Mountains, the film is narrated by the founders and children of Junín who depict how the village's daily life has been affected by the rich ore deposits that were discovered beneath their land. As two invading mining companies become increasingly brazen in their attempts to infiltrate and control the area, the community must coalesce into a united resistance in order to survive. Still, some citizens side with the wealth that the companies promise, causing irreparable divisions, pitting friend against friend and father against son. Suddenly these once-peaceful farmers find themselves thrust into a dangerous world of corruption, splintered households, murder and arson as they fight tenaciously to protect their land and families. When Clouds Clear was shot on a patchwork of 16 mm, Super 8 and video that serves as a reminder to us all that wealth and poverty cannot always be measured in dollars and cents.