Ralco

In southern Chile, close to the Argentinean border, the electricity company, Endesa, has received the official go-ahead to build Ralco, a gigantic dam, across the River Bio Bio. The construction will mean flooding lands belonging to the Pehuenche Indians. Now, all that remains to be done is convince the few families concerned to accept an exchange of land. Yet this is no easy matter, given the unshakeable determination of two sisters, Berta and Nicolasa Quintremán, who decide to lead operations. They organise protest marches and travel up to the capital to defend their rights… The film pays tribute not only to these two wilful old ladies and their year-long struggle, but also to the Pehuenche culture in a series of tableaux depicting daily life in the valley: harvesting the age-old staple diet of pine kernels, the Nguillatún festival, the problems of the school, the waning power of the village chief…