Daughter of the Lake

A devastating mercury spill by the world's richest gold mining corporation transforms a quiet peasant village in Peru's Andean mountains into a hotbed of civil resistance. A courageous young mayor emerges to lead his people on a quest for health care and justice. But powerful interests conspire to thwart the villagers at every turn in this 2-year epic chronicle of the real price of gold.

Amid the impressive biodiversity of the Peruvian Amazon, the indigenous communities of Madre de Dios are threatened daily by illegal gold and timber extraction. It is a fight to the death to preserve their identity and the memory of the Wändari, their territory.

Tambogrande is a town in North Peru. Over the years, the inhabitants have taken great pains to transform this initially barren area into a fertile valley. This is where the majority of the national fruit production comes from, including mangoes and limes. The relative affluence of Tambogrande became endangered in 1999, when foreigners began exploring a gold deposit beneath the town. The Canadian firm Manhattan Minerals made plans for a huge mine that would eat up a large part of the town and bring the danger of serious soil and water pollution. The people of Tambogrande preferred mangoes over gold, so they revolted. A grim struggle ensued, documented over the course of several years. In Tambogrande the filmmakers give an account of a murder and show how the government of President Fujimori falls into discredit. Eventually, the inhabitants of Tambogrande manage to achieve some success in their cause and the story of their mainly peaceful protest is heard all over the world.

This documentary journeys to the kitchens of Peru's coast, highlands and jungle, as well as Peruvian expat communities in Paris, London, Amsterdam and New York for answers. From the most humble family kitchens to the poshest restaurants, from stories of pioneering Peruvian chefs abroad to those who preserve ancient recipes at home, we find that Peru's cuisine is deliciously integrating for its people, who have historically been marked by ethnic and economic differences. Renowned chefs such as Gaston Acurio, Ferran Adria, Juan Mari Arzak and Bernardo Roca Rey share their views on Peru's cuisine alongside those unsung chefs, who also dream of Peru's cuisine as a motor of development.

We hear the inner dialogue of Priscilla, a man, as he applies makeup and transforms himself in front of the mirror, recalling how he went from feeling guilty about having HIV to becoming an activist without a mask, overcoming his guilt and fears.