Worried about the future of their community and the health of their territory, residents of north-central Mexico face mining companies who, according to them, will go as far as killing them to impose their law. And silence those who oppose them.
The gaze can travel far, far, to the land of Roberto de la Rosa, in central Mexico. The camera, patiently, follows in his footsteps when he goes to cut the squash and never fails to raise its lens as one would raise one’s head to embrace this horizon made of mountains and valleys bathed in sunlight. It simply shows the vegetation over which the wind passes and time passes.
It would be beautiful if, in the distance, where the peasant looked, there hadn’t been this explosion.
Nature is not always peaceful around Roberto de la Rosa’s house. Its lands are in fact surrounded by mines. One of them belongs to Carlos Slim, he explains. This man is one of the richest in the world. His mining activities are only part of his empire. He is also a heavyweight in telecommunications and media. He even owns shares in the company that owns the New York Times…
Roberto de la Rosa is not just a farmer, he is also an activist. He has been trying for years to draw attention to the actions of Mexican, but also American and Canadian, mining companies at home in Mexico. He denounces the forced displacement of citizens, attacks on the environment and threats made to the population.
The White Guardby Julien Élie (Black suns), tells his story, but also that of several other citizens who live in fear. They describe a dire dynamic in which mining companies walk hand in hand with Mexican cartels who are responsible for intimidating residents, if not silencing them forever, the documentary alleges. The “white guard” are these men in white vans who make the law of the strongest reign.
Julien Élie tells a desperate David and Goliath story, but with a look of great finesse. His film moves slowly, evoking the heaviness of everyday life for these people who cannot see the end of the struggle they are waging. If the work drags on a little (we would have taken 30 minutes less), its images are beautiful and eloquent. The way in which the places are filmed imposes a sad observation: even in the open air, Roberto de la Rosa and his fellow citizens live in prison.
The White Guard is presented in the original version in Spanish with French or English subtitles. A screening followed by a question period with filmmaker Julien Élie and editor Xi Feng, moderated by the editor-in-chief of 24 Images, Bruno Dequen, is scheduled for Friday evening at Cinéma Beaubien from 6:45 p.m.
Indoors
Check the movie schedule
Documentary
The White Guard
Julien Elie
With Roberto de la Rosa and his fellow citizens
1:49 a.m.