• Rating:
• Genre: Culture & Society
• Movie Type: Social Issues, Environmental Science
• Director: Peter Von Gunten
• Release Year: 1982
• Country: CH
• Run Time: 45 minutes

Plot

This 45-minute Swiss documentary focuses on the havoc wrought by the creation of an enormous lake, the Sobradinho, in the wake of building a large dam in Brazil. The rising waters of the lake have wiped away the centuries-old farmlands of the peasantry, and left them without a viable economic recourse. In the meantime, new lands irrigated with water from the lake are being used to grow fruit and vegetables for export only, and to raise sugar cane to make an alcohol that is used as a substitute for gasoline. The peasants have the option of working in the sugar cane fields at a signficant decrease in their living standards - already low before the dam was constructed. The writers of this documentary, Dorothe Schnyder and Peter von Gunten (also the director), interview the peasants affected by the dam, and talk with relevant government officials. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Credit

Peter Von Gunten - Director; Peter Von Gunten - Editor; Peter Von Gunten - Cinematographer; Peter Von Gunten - Producer; Peter Von Gunten - Screenwriter