STORY
ELDORADO is an urgent documentary chronicling the struggle against environmental destruction through high-risk gold mining at Europe's largest mining project located in Northern Greece.
Local opposition to extreme mineral extraction became a broad-based movement driven by a desire for a deeper form of democracy, which received solidarity from all over Greece and across Europe.
The Greek government reacted by sending anti-terrorist squads into a resistant village and brought up charges against more than 450 people, many of whom are accused for allegedly forming a criminal organization and are facing severe prison sentences.
Meanwhile, Canadian low-cost mining company Eldorado Gold uses elaborate tax evasion schemes to avoid paying income tax channeling profits via Dutch mailbox companies.
With a unique access to long-term residents and extensive archive material, the film tells the stories of activists criminalized for their opposition to the mining project and documents the high price of gold for the environment and human rights in Greece.
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BACKGROUND
The situation in the area of Skouries is a social, ecological, and political battlefield. In 2012 the Canadian Eldorado Gold Corporation acquired 317 million square meters of land and started drastically expanding mining activities. Soon, the open-pit mining will expel four tons of toxic dust per hour and unearth 20,000 tons of arsenic per year.
Confronted with the irreversible destruction of the environment, the population reacted massively and united, organizing protests that brought up to 25.000 people to the streets.
After an arson attack on the mining site by a group of 50 unknown people in 2013, the Greek government reacted by criminalizing the whole anti-mining movement, sent anti-terrorism and riot police forces who used excessive violence, detained people without evidence, conducted house searches, collected DNA, and monitored telephone conversations for several months.
Today, more than 450 people are accused for their opposition and several of them for forming a criminal organization, which might result in prison charges for 25 years. ELDORADO tells their stories which are interwoven with the struggle for sovereignty over the resources most crucial for collective survival: water, air, and land.
The story of Skouries has barely been reported in the Greek media, which has a reputation for being linked to corporate interests. Media bias is particularly strong in this case because Eldorado Gold’s Greek subsidiary is owned by the same family as the largest TV Channel of Greece.
Help us spread the story with our film, which we will show on festivals and publish on the websites of our official partners Hellenic Mining Watch and SOMO in early 2018!
WHO WE ARE
We are two film-makers and researchers based in Vienna and Berlin, collaborating with a Greek team and production company dotmov.
Leopold Helbich is a writer and film-maker based in Vienna whose work ranges across film, new media theatre and philosophy. He is co-founder of the Swiss arts and activism collective NEUE DRINGLICHKEIT and member of the the new-media & theatre collective Digital-Bühne Zürich.
Wasil Schauseil is a journalist and filmmaker from Berlin. His work is dedicated to exposing and challenging the firm grip of neoliberal dogma and authoritarian developments in Europe and the World. His work on ELDORADO is carried by this intention.
Elvira Krithari is a journalist based in Athens. She has worked as a freelance reporter and producer, for Greek and European Media. She is currently a staff reporter with AthensLive, covering social issues and the environment.
Dimitrios Ntontis is a German-Greek composer who works as a freelance composer for film and media in London. He composed the music for several films, animations, documentaries, theatre performances and video art installations in the UK, Germany, Austria and Korea.
Dimitris Tzikas is an editor based in Athens. He studied Cinema at the Aristotle University and has directed various projects including short films and viral video clips. Currently, he is working for the production company "dotmov" while doing his graduate studies in Philosophy.
OUR OFFICIAL PARTNERS:
Hellenic Mining Watch is an independent, non-for profit observatory of mining practices in Greece with the aim to ensure the health of individuals, communities and ecosystems.
SOMO is a critical, independent, not-for-profit knowledge centre on multinational organizations.
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WHY WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT:
Working independently with a small team and relying only on the help of local activists, journalists, lawyers, and friends, we were able to gain a unique access to the struggle and record compelling, tragic and inspiring stories.
We have already shot most of the material for ELDORADO, but still need to finish post-production, which is the most expensive part of filmmaking.
In order to complete the film, reimburse our friends for their support, and share the story with an international audience, we need your support!
HOW THIS CAMPAIGN WORKS:
This is all-or-nothing: If we do not reach our goal, we will not receive any funds, and the film will not be completed. Please help us realize this story! You will see the pledges you can make on the right with the corresponding rewards you will receive.
HOW WE'LL SPEND THIS MONEY:
- Conducting remaining interviews.
- Editing the film into a strong fine cut.
- Paying our collaborators for their support.
- Hiring translators to subtitle the Greek audio in English and German.
- Having our friends compose an amazing score for our film.
AND IF WE RAISE MORE?
We'll be able to make an even better film and submit it to more international festivals.
Any exceeding funds to what we require for making the film will be used to support the residents of Halkidiki facing charges, who are under tremendous pressure through the high costs of the ongoing court trials!
WHY SUPPORT US?
You will be supporting a small team of independent filmmakers and journalists from Germany, Austria, and Greece who are committed to raising awareness on critical political issues, investigate the abuse of power, and support the social struggles of our times.
Most importantly, you will be supporting the struggle of the people of Halkidiki, who experience the marginalization, criminalization, and human rights abuses firsthand. Our film tells their stories in order to support the environmentalist struggle for democratic sovereignty over resources.
INCENTIVES
ELDORADO 68x44mm oval pinback button - show your support to save the primeval Skouries forest, where Eldorado Gold is constructing an open-pit mine and processing plant!
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Our friends Dimitrios Ntontis and Erich Schachtner will compose an amazing score for our film! You can get the FILM SCORE AS DIGITAL DOWNLOAD as an additional component to our film.
Dimitrios Ntontis is a German-Greek composer who works as a freelance composer for film and media in London. He composed the music for several films, animations, documentaries, theatre performances and video art installations in the UK, Germany, Austria and Korea. Listen to his works on sound-cloud, here.
Erich Schachtner is a classical guitarist and film composer based in Berlin whose work ranges across classical and new music (in collaboration with Eliot Fisk, Robert Rice, Frederik Schwenk) experimental pop music (in collaboration with Supertramp’s Richard Plamer-James), anatolian folk music (with the brothers Kemal & Metin Karaman) and film music. Check out his website!
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"SOS Halkidiki" T-Shirt designed and printed by the struggle committee of Ierissos, the resistant village that was repeatedly invaded by riot police forces. Show your solidarity!
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Our dear friend Mike, the Athens-based painter Never Brush My Teeth, designed a unique drawing for us. We have the amazing opportunity to offer you 10 SIGNED AND NUMBERED, LIMITED EDITION 20x30cm black and white prints coming directly from Greece.
If you love this painting as much as we do, you can also get the ORIGINAL SIGNED 42x28 cm COLOUR DRAWING. There is only one so you’d be the only person to get it.
Don’t miss this opportunity to receive a weird and eerie piece of mind from this inspiring artist!
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Australian artist Myles Young will design a LIMITED EDITION THEATRICAL POSTER for our film! We are very exited about this because we absolutely love his work. Though we haven't seen the poster, yet we are sure it’s going to be amazing! Have a look at Myles' work below and check out his website: here.
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THANK YOU
If you find this film interesting and the topic important, we would be grateful for your support!
If you can’t donate but still want to help us please share this site with anyone you know.
If you want to learn more about this project, please contact us.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eldoradodocumentary/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EldoradoDoc
Contact: eldorado-documentary@posteo.net
RISKS & CHALLENGES
We faced severe challenges while filming at the mining-sites, which are patrolled by police and security 24 hours per day. Our names are well known to the company's security staff and the police department of the area who act as Eldorado Gold’s private security forces and once even forced us to delete the material we recorded by formatting our SD card.
However, we have overcome these obstacles and obtained valuable material of the environmental destruction and police misconduct through interviews, on-site recording, and archive material.
We are confident that with your support we can create a great documentary by early 2018!
