The Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales de Argentina has just released “En el nombre del litio”, a documentary produced by FARN and Calma Cine that deals with the situation in northern Argentina regarding the exploitation of this “wonder mineral”. Directed by Tian Cartier and Martin Longo, the film makes visible the voices and claims of the communities that inhabit the salt flats, as well as the concern for the environmental impact generated by the extraction of lithium.
The film will be available free of charge until 16 August inclusive at www.enelnombredellitio.org.ar and the trailer can be seen HERE
SYNOPSIS: Clemente Flores lives in the community of El Moreno, in Salinas Grandes, Jujuy, where the native communities are trying to prevent the imminent arrival of multinational mining companies to extract lithium, the new white gold. In search of answers to their silenced demand to be consulted in the decision-making processes, Clemente embarks on a revealing journey, to return and organise, together with the other communities of the salt flats, an action of resistance in defence of their territory and the balance of Pachamama.
“In the name of Lithium” is the last will of the native communities of the salt flats of northern Argentina to be heard and respected. Their ancestral traditions are threatened by modern civilisation and modern civilisation is threatened by their ancestral traditions. This documentary reflects the conflict between their worldview and the modern world’s desperate attempts to find an alternative to fossil fuels in lithium. Technological advances help us to improve our quality of life, but the viewer must understand what our responsibilities are towards the environment and other forms of life, as well as what social, political and economic behaviours we must change with future generations in mind.
The salt marshes are almost infinite. And so must be our search for balance in humanity.
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