THIS STOLEN COUNTRY OF MINE
THIS STOLEN COUNTRY OF MINE is about China's massive hunger for natural resources and how during the last decade it has been aggressively operating to obtain access to these resources in Ecuador. The country is now stuck with the most Chinese debts in Latin America.
Meet Paúl Jarrín Mosquera, who leads the indigenous resistance against the exploitation of their land. Meanwhile, China uses the Ecuadorian government to turn the country into one of its new colonies, having made the country dependent on credit through a series of corrupt and greedy treaties. When journalist Fernando Villavicencio exposes these plots and gets access to the contracts between China and Ecuador, the government wants him silenced too. Both men are fighting for freedom in this battle against a superpower.
Festivals
CPH:DOX, F:ACT AWARD Competition, Denmark (2022) - World Premiere
DOK.fest München, DOK.Panorama, Germany (2022)
Winner German Documentary Film Music Award for composer Alva Noto (aka Carsten Nicolai) (2022)
DocAviv, Beyond the Screen Competition, Israel (2022)
"Special Mention" Al Jazeera Balkans Documentary Film Festival (AJB DOC), Bosnia Herzegovina (2022)
Media Festival Skopje, Macedonia (2022)
"Special Mention", Bozcaada International Festival of Ecological Documentary, International Competition, Turkey (2022)
Film Festival Cologne, Germany (2022)
"Winner -Our America Competition", DocsMX, Mexico (2022)
Planet in Focus International Environmental Film Festival, Canada (2022)
Warsaw Film Festival, Documentary Competition, Poland (2022)
Free Zone Film Festival, Green Zone Program, (2022)
Oslo Films from the South Festival, Doc:South Competition, Norway (2022)
Movies that Matter, Activist Competition, The Netherlands (2023)
Another Way, Spain (2023)
Budapest International Documentary FF, Official Competition, Hungary (2024)
Cine Latino, Norway (2024)
International Environmental Film Festival (FINCA), Argentina (2024)
Filmambiente, International Environmental Film Festival, Brazil (2024)
Theatrical release Germany by Real Fiction on November 10, 2022
More info
"(...) a well-built and electrifying documentary about two heroes fighting against their corrupt government, who have brokered several disadvantageous loan deals with China. (...) Even though the film’s heroes face powerful opposition, the director creates a dynamic feeling that the forces of light will prevail in the end."
- Astra Zoldnere, Modern Times Review"Elegantly made and with an evocative soundtrack by Alva Noto, This Stolen Country of Mine is a strikingly dramatic documentary about the consequences of globalisation and when a population rises up and protests."
- Mark Adams, Cineuropa"Using a combination of interviews, archive and heart-stopping frontline filmmaking, Marc Wiese follows the twin-pronged civil assault against the plundering of Ecuador, through the reporting of the dogged Villavicencio and through grass roots rebellions by the communities whose lands are being appropriated."
- Wendy Ede, ScreendailyJury statement of the German Documentary Film Music Award:
“This Stolen Country of Mine explores the disturbingly topical question of a state’s sovereignty in the face of foreign powers. The film portrays Ecuadorian resistance fighters and journalists who oppose the sell-off of a large part of the country’s own resources to Chinese investors. Alva Noto’s music subtly lends intense power to the struggle of a mountain village, sensitively and precisely accentuating the film’s disturbing theme – and often bringing us closer than we would like. Close, but never indiscreet, he exposes and holds back when the images and statements of the protagonists speak for themselves. It reflects the dark shadows as well as the budding glimmers of hope of communal resistance. We honour the composer’s achievement in fully backing the theme, flanking it with sound collages and nature sounds and underlining the existing drama in a cool, restrained and professional manner.”Jury statement AJB DOC JURY:
“The Jury of the Al Jazeera Balkans Program Department awards the “Special Mention” for the author’s perseverance in the effort to show the struggle of anonymous heroes against the system of powerful, corrupt and greedy companies that, in the modern world, take up the position of former overthrown colonial powers, with deep respect for the director’s determination and courage to persist in illuminating the dark sides of the life that surrounds us“
Synopsis
THIS STOLEN COUNTRY OF MINE is about China's massive hunger for natural resources and how during the last decade it has been aggressively operating to obtain access to these resources in Ecuador. The country is now stuck with the most Chinese debts in Latin America.
Meet Paúl Jarrín Mosquera, who leads the indigenous resistance against the exploitation of their land. Meanwhile, China uses the Ecuadorian government to turn the country into one of its new colonies, having made the country dependent on credit through a series of corrupt and greedy treaties. When journalist Fernando Villavicencio exposes these plots and gets access to the contracts between China and Ecuador, the government wants him silenced too. Both men are fighting for freedom in this battle against a superpower.
Festivals
CPH:DOX, F:ACT AWARD Competition, Denmark (2022) - World Premiere
DOK.fest München, DOK.Panorama, Germany (2022)
Winner German Documentary Film Music Award for composer Alva Noto (aka Carsten Nicolai) (2022)
DocAviv, Beyond the Screen Competition, Israel (2022)
"Special Mention" Al Jazeera Balkans Documentary Film Festival (AJB DOC), Bosnia Herzegovina (2022)
Media Festival Skopje, Macedonia (2022)
"Special Mention", Bozcaada International Festival of Ecological Documentary, International Competition, Turkey (2022)
Film Festival Cologne, Germany (2022)
"Winner -Our America Competition", DocsMX, Mexico (2022)
Planet in Focus International Environmental Film Festival, Canada (2022)
Warsaw Film Festival, Documentary Competition, Poland (2022)
Free Zone Film Festival, Green Zone Program, (2022)
Oslo Films from the South Festival, Doc:South Competition, Norway (2022)
Movies that Matter, Activist Competition, The Netherlands (2023)
Another Way, Spain (2023)
Budapest International Documentary FF, Official Competition, Hungary (2024)
Cine Latino, Norway (2024)
International Environmental Film Festival (FINCA), Argentina (2024)
Filmambiente, International Environmental Film Festival, Brazil (2024)
Theatrical release Germany by Real Fiction on November 10, 2022
More info
"(...) a well-built and electrifying documentary about two heroes fighting against their corrupt government, who have brokered several disadvantageous loan deals with China. (...) Even though the film’s heroes face powerful opposition, the director creates a dynamic feeling that the forces of light will prevail in the end."
- Astra Zoldnere, Modern Times Review"Elegantly made and with an evocative soundtrack by Alva Noto, This Stolen Country of Mine is a strikingly dramatic documentary about the consequences of globalisation and when a population rises up and protests."
- Mark Adams, Cineuropa"Using a combination of interviews, archive and heart-stopping frontline filmmaking, Marc Wiese follows the twin-pronged civil assault against the plundering of Ecuador, through the reporting of the dogged Villavicencio and through grass roots rebellions by the communities whose lands are being appropriated."
- Wendy Ede, ScreendailyJury statement of the German Documentary Film Music Award:
“This Stolen Country of Mine explores the disturbingly topical question of a state’s sovereignty in the face of foreign powers. The film portrays Ecuadorian resistance fighters and journalists who oppose the sell-off of a large part of the country’s own resources to Chinese investors. Alva Noto’s music subtly lends intense power to the struggle of a mountain village, sensitively and precisely accentuating the film’s disturbing theme – and often bringing us closer than we would like. Close, but never indiscreet, he exposes and holds back when the images and statements of the protagonists speak for themselves. It reflects the dark shadows as well as the budding glimmers of hope of communal resistance. We honour the composer’s achievement in fully backing the theme, flanking it with sound collages and nature sounds and underlining the existing drama in a cool, restrained and professional manner.”Jury statement AJB DOC JURY:
“The Jury of the Al Jazeera Balkans Program Department awards the “Special Mention” for the author’s perseverance in the effort to show the struggle of anonymous heroes against the system of powerful, corrupt and greedy companies that, in the modern world, take up the position of former overthrown colonial powers, with deep respect for the director’s determination and courage to persist in illuminating the dark sides of the life that surrounds us“