THE VEIL OF BERTA

The Veil of Berta

Presented by Yael Martinez

This film delicately narrates the story of Berta Quintreman, an elderly indigenous woman who, at the age of 88, led the last group opposing the construction of the Ralco Project, a gigantic dam that will stop the flow of the Bio Bio River and flood the land where her native Mapuche Pewenche community has lived for centuries. A woman with a strong personality and a unique blend of humor and energy, Berta lives alone on her small pieces of land and observes all the traditions of her people. On a daily basis she greets the trees and the sun, drinks mate (a traditional herbal tea) with her dead, and says her prayers. But at the same time we will see that she confronts the authorities of Endesa (a Spanish transnational company) and the Chilean government. She manages to halt the machinery and works together with other families to prevent the flooding of their land. The Mapuche people are the largest indigenous tribe of southern Chile. After the ending of Pinochet’s military dictatorship and under increasing pressure from forestry companies, the Mapuche took up the struggle in the 1990’s to recover their territory. This film is directed by Jeanette Paillán. Jeannette herself will attend the showing to comment on her work and the situation of the Mapuche people today. Jeannette’s works have been screened internationally since 1994. Her first documentary, Wallmapu, was awarded at the 2003 Human Rights Film Festival in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Jeannette was also festival coordinator of the 2004 CLACPI Festival of Indigenous Film and Video in Santiago, Chile.

The film is FREE but $5 donations are accepted.

Before and after the film, everyone\'s invited to indulge in our Humanist Coffee House.