The Devil's Miner
Encyclopedia
The Devil's Miner is a 2005 documentary film
directed by independent film directors Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani. The film follows a fourteen year old Bolivia
n boy named Basilio Vargas who along with his twelve year old brother Bernardino work in the mines near the city of Potosí
. The film includes many subtle realities of the miner's lives such as the need to chew coca leaves to numb the pain of hunger and the long shifts they work regardless of age. The film made its world premier at the Rotterdam film festival
and its U.S. debut at the Tribeca Film Festival
.
The film concentrates on the concerns of local workers who have fear of what they call “Tio” or devil
. The film claims that over 8 million people over a period of time have died in the unsafe mines. The workers believe this is because “Tio” controls the mine and that Christ
has no power in the mine. The workers often give offerings
and perform sacrifices to a makeshift statue of "Tio". The local Catholic
priest is unable to tame these fears of “Tio” although the workers often pray at the church before entering the mine.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by independent film directors Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani. The film follows a fourteen year old Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
n boy named Basilio Vargas who along with his twelve year old brother Bernardino work in the mines near the city of Potosí
Potosí
Potosí is a city and the capital of the department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world by elevation at a nominal . and it was the location of the Spanish colonial mint, now the National Mint of Bolivia...
. The film includes many subtle realities of the miner's lives such as the need to chew coca leaves to numb the pain of hunger and the long shifts they work regardless of age. The film made its world premier at the Rotterdam film festival
International Film Festival Rotterdam
The International Film Festival Rotterdam is an annual film festival held in various cinemas in Rotterdam, Netherlands held at the end of January. It is approximately comparable in size to other major European festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno...
and its U.S. debut at the Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
.
The film concentrates on the concerns of local workers who have fear of what they call “Tio” or devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
. The film claims that over 8 million people over a period of time have died in the unsafe mines. The workers believe this is because “Tio” controls the mine and that Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
has no power in the mine. The workers often give offerings
Offerings
Offerings may refer to:* Offerings , a slasher film* Offerings , the second album by VAS* Offerings: A Worship Album, a worship album by Christian band Third Day...
and perform sacrifices to a makeshift statue of "Tio". The local Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
priest is unable to tame these fears of “Tio” although the workers often pray at the church before entering the mine.