This Stolen Country of Mine

Skilfully combining interviews, factual information, archival footage and front-line footage of popular uprisings, filmmaker Marc Wiese paints a disturbing portrait of the situation in Ecuador. 

At one point, investigative journalist Fernando Villavicencio declares, "We've been colonized... Again!", noting with despair the unsustainable situation created from scratch by a corrupt and opportunistic government, which has given the country's most precious natural resources to China. In this work that alternates between contemplation and action, the breathtaking beauty of Ecuador's landscapes contrasts with the violence and repression suffered by citizens denouncing the extractivist excesses that are jeopardizing the country's future and the health of its population. The film also raises the question of the limits of individual sacrifice for a cause, however noble. How do you take a stand when the simple act of demanding your rights is criminalized by the powers that be? To leave or to stay? To use violence or not?

While the film ends on a hopeful note, suggesting a slightly less gloomy horizon for the country, it also reminds us of the importance of the struggles to be continued and the disasters to be prevented... Because Ecuador's legal framework still makes it one of the most attractive places for foreign mining investors, and not just for the Chinese; Canadian companies are also among the largest investors.