OFFICIAL SELECTION - International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (Best of Fests) | SPECIAL JURY PRIZE - IndieMemphis | BEST DIRECTOR - International Environmental Film and Video Festival, Brazil
Minas Gerais • Brazil • Iron Ore Mining • Multinational Mining Companies • Deforestation & Dam Disasters • Toxic Mud & Tailing Dams • Social Justice • Post Colonialism • Displaced CommunitiesDate of Completion: 2023 | Run Time: 75 minutes | Language: Portuguese with English & French subtitles | Captions: Yes | Includes: Transcript & Study Guide | Director/Cinematographer: Pedro de Filippis | Producers: Leonardo Mecchi, Bronte Stahl & Tarsila Nakamura | Assistant Director: Davit Giménez | Sound Design: Daniel Nunes | Editor: Luiz Pretti | Soundtrack: Paulo Santos & Gustavo Cunha
Residents of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais are waging a David-and-Goliath battle against a multinational mining company. Iron ore mining produces waste that is stored in river basins retained by huge, poorly constructed dams. The people who live nearby are in great danger. The last catastrophic dam failure occurred in 2019, when a torrent of red mud engulfed countless villages, killing 2702 people and causing a vast environmental disaster. Yet so far domestic nor international politics have done anything to stand in the way of the multinational, multi-billion-dollar company: plans for a brand new mine are already underway. REJEITO depicts the State mining committee member and environmentalist Maria Teresa Corujo in her tireless, unequal fight against the scandalously indifferent mining giant, and follows a group of residents who were forced to leave their village but now return in protest. Aesthetic, abstract shots of mining and river flows punctuate scenes of sometimes highly emotional meetings and evictions.
AWARDS
Special Jury Mention | IndieMemphis
Best Director | International Environmental Film and Video Festival, Brazil
High School Jury Prize | One World Romania Film Festival, Bucharest
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