Jorge leaves his moto-taxi business in the suburbs of Lima and his family to seek fortune as a miner, reaching the highest and most dangerous Andean gold mine in Peru. Lost under a glacier in the mountains, La Rinconada is “the closest city to the sky”. It attracts thousands of seasonal workers like Jorge, seeking a lucky strike and a better life. Here starts a journey full of presages, where reality blends with magic, where the myth of richness is built over a sacrifice: every now and then, miners mysteriously disappear, since gold belongs to the Devil, El Tio de la Mina requires sacrifice.

The first solo feature by Italian documentarian Matteo Tortone, MOTHER LODE won the Eurimages Lab Award and had its world premiere in Venice where it was nominated for Grand Prize at International Critics' Week.

“This impressive feature from Matteo Tortone (White Men) blurs the lines between fiction and factual filmmaking to immersive effect; this world of expendable lives, lost souls and ritual sacrifice is vividly brought to life.” –Screen Daily

DIRECTED BY MATTEO TORTONE
FRANCE | 2021 | SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES