The negative repercussions of environmental pollution and the exploitation of natural resources are visible and measured everywhere. This severe problem and the consequences of it are a global issue and concern all of us. This documentary project illuminates the complexity of environmental pollution and the exploitation of natural resources as well as the reciprocity of all implicated factors that contribute to it.
Guatemala – a country famous for its wealth of natural resources and cultural heritage. But its livelihood is increasingly at risk because of environmental pollution. To understand the loss of responsibility towards nature, I went on an exploratory journey in the land of the Maya, searching for insights.
By providing a stage to the voices which are so often unheard and showing the conflict from different angles, this documentary work should not only clarify the situation but stimulate us, as an individual as well as a society, to self-reflectively think about this major concern and the absurdities behind it.
The more I talked to all sorts of actors involved, the more I had to deal with other relevant topics that might have led to the present situation. Not only the negligence of accessible education and insufficient protection of natural resources and cultural assets were mentioned, but traces of colonial oppression, power imbalances, and manipulation not only by means of the media and the government but even through social foundations managed by large corporations. I’d call these «external factors» since they – although at the roots formed out of multiple small decisions made by individuals – cause aggravating circumstances for the inhabitants who are already dealing with a difficult situation.
The key message is to show that positive changes start with a single person who decides not to go the self-destructive way of the masses. It’s upon ourselves to ask if we want to support this unfavorable change or if we change the way we look at things and thus make better decisions, which are in favor of a more sustainable and peaceful cohabitation today and in the future.
Thank you.