Cine Latino: "Bitter Gold"

Cine Latino (May 9 to 14) offers the best of Latin American cinema, with hand-picked films that have won awards at many international festivals.

BITTER GOLD

CHL/MEX/URY/DEU 2024. dir: Juan Olea. D: Katalina Sánchez, Francisco Melo, Matías Catalán. 83 min. SpanOmdtU. FSK: 12

In the middle of the endless expanse of the Chilean Atacama Desert, young Carola dreams of a life by the sea. But everyday life with her father Pacifico is merciless: together they run an illegal mine and guard a dangerous secret - a vein of gold that they mine secretly at night. When one of the other miners discovers the hidden discovery, the situation escalates into violence. Carola has to take her father's place. But can she stand up to the hostility of the men's world?
This gripping neo-western takes us into the unbelievable vastness of the desert and deep into the bowels of the earth; in an exciting and visually powerful way, it tells the story of a woman who "descends into the depths of hell in order to emerge stronger." (Jury statement, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, Warsaw Film Festival)
Preview before the national release!

Juan Olea began his career as a director of video clips, short films and experimental videos that were shown at film festivals in Chile. In 2014, his feature film THE LAMB won the award for best director at the Santiago International Film Festival. BITTER GOLD is his second feature film.