MOTHER LODE

Every year, La Rinconada, Peru’s largest goldmine, attracts migrant workers like Jorge, a moto-taxi driver from Lima, to the highest town in the world at 5,000 metres above sea level. Gold has always held a certain sort of fascination, which is also reflected in mythology: the gold of La Rinconada is said to belong to the devil. He asks for victims in exchange for the nuggets. We observe life in the town at icy temperatures with contaminated water and thin air. Through black-and-white images, we observe the main character, who acts out a version of his own story in a combination of documentary and fiction.