Bitter Gold

About the film:

Juan Francisco Olea´s second feature follows young Carola (Katalina Sanchez) and her father Pacífico (Veteran chilean actor Francisco Melo) as they they run smallscale copper mines trying to survive in an environment ruled by hardship and unspoken rules. Their fragile existence hides a secret: under the cover of night, they work a vein of gold they must keep hidden from other miners. When that secret is discovered, violence erupts. Pacífico is gravely injured, and Carola, thrust into leadership, must navigate a brutal world of patriarchal power, jealousy, and betrayal.

Thanks to an excellent ensemble cast, among which Katalina Sánchez stands out with her sheer screen presence as Carola, and a rich story, "Bitter Gold" is more than just a glittering surface.

Shot on location, with stunning aerial views of the unforgiving Atacama Desert wonderfully captured by DP Sergio Armstrong (usual collaborator of chilean director Pablo Larraín), Bitter Gold is a pulse-pounding Chilean take on the Neo-western genre that uses all its stripped-down archetypes and plot threads, to tell a story about entrenched social structures.

About the festival:

ESCENA. Oslo Ibero-amerikanske filmdager is a platform for cultural exchange between Norway and the Ibero-American region.

The aim of the festival is to promote the interest in film from the Spanish and Portuguese speaking nations of Europe and the Americas and showcase the vibrant film expressions of these nations.

The films convey social, political, and historical aspects of this cultural context as well as the challenges currently facing the societies of the region. Even though these nations share a common cultural mainstream; they form a rich tapestry of diverse backgrounds that translate into their cinematic expression.

ESCENA also provides a gathering place and discussion forum for film enthusiasts, for those with roots in the region and others who have an interest in Ibero-America.