The Chilean documentary ‘Veil of Berta by Esteban Larrain, was crowned o­n Saturday 25 June, as Ramsar-MedWet best film for water and wetlands for 2005, at the ecofilms international film and audiovisual arts festival, Rhodes 21-26 June.

Set in a high altitude river basin in the South of Chile, the film highlights the struggle of a community of native Pehuenche villagers against the building of a dam that will change the flow of the Bio-Bio river and flood the lands where they have lived for centuries.

Veil of Berta unfolds the story of the leader of this Pehuence community, Berta Quintremán, who at the age of 86 leads the last group opposing the construction of the dam. A woman with a strong personality and a unique blend of humor and energy, Berta lives alone o­n her small piece of land, and observes all the traditions of her people. o­n a daily basis, she greets the trees and the sun, takes mate (a typical herbal tea) with her dead and says her prayers. But at the same time she negotiates with the government as well as the dam construction company, manages to halt the machinery and works together with other families to prevent the flooding of their land.

Strong imagery of water landscapes is o­ne of the film’s outstanding features 
In his movie, Esteban Larrain captures, with an exceptional sensitivity, the outstanding personality of Berta Quintreman and the striking dimension of her fight. Through a combination of narrative and strong imagery of water landscapes, the film works in a number of ways to stimulate and inspire o­n the need to use water and wetland resources wisely.

The delicate narrative told at a natural pace of daily life of Berta and of the Pehuence community eases an understanding of the intimacy of the bonds between the native community and their environment. Evocative photography of water landscapes reinforces a sense of the cultural importance and values attributed by the native group to the river Bio-Bio that runs through the lands and history of the Pehuence people. Moreover the dignity of the confrontations of Berta Quintremán with those favoring the flooding of the native lands, generates respect for the struggle of native stakeholders to participate in the management of their natural water resources.

The Ramsar MedWet Award touches a chord with Larrain

News of winning the Ramsar MedWet award helped dissipate independent documentary filmmaker Larrain’s ‘doubts wondering’, as Larrain put it ‘whether it is all worth it’. Awarded o­n a warm summer night in the Mediterranean island of Rhodes but wintery morning in Chile, the Award raised the spirits of the director of ‘Berta’s Veil’ helping, in Larrain’s words in ‘getting you going a little further’.

Updated on 7/11/2005 2:57:31 PM.