The documentary shows the mindset, culture, and self-determination of the Dominican LARIMAR miners through the story of Daniel who, after 32 years working as a pikeman, aspires to make his last extraction in order to retire.
Santo Domingo. – Amelia Deschamps officially premiered her award-winning short documentary “In Search of the Blue Heart” in the Dominican Republic within the Fine Arts “Made in the DR” Film Festival.
The documentary tells the story of Daniel, a father of 11 children, who immerses himself every day in the dangerous and shaft tunnels of a mine in search of LARIMAR, a semi-precious “sea-blue” stone exclusive to the Dominican Republic. After 32 years working as a pikeman, Daniel seeks to make his last extraction of it to retire.
“This is a story about the people who enter every day to extract this sought after stone that today we recognize as our national stone. And I hope that this work is the starting point for deeper conversations that our country should have about the value we give to the symbols that represent us and our entire environment,” said Amelia Deschamps, producer, and director of the documentary.
“It gives me great satisfaction to show this first work in my country, because it is our story. By exploring Daniel’s life, I immerse myself not only in the mine but also in the mindset, impulses, and challenges that those in charge of extracting our national stone face in their daily lives. And I try to bring out those experiences through this documentary. “I have learned another way of telling stories about the social issues that have always motivated my work, now using other audiovisual resources that allow me to mix my two passions: cinema and journalism,” she added.
The special presentation of the documentary was attended by Daniel Quezada, protagonist of the story; Rodolfo Feliz, investor in the mine and head of the team; and the rest of the group of miners who become central characters in this documentary that shows the challenges they face during a week in which they prepare the ground to begin extracting the larimar, after months of excavation.
“The risks and challenges into the tunnels are as profound as where the larimar itself in the heart of the mountain. However, the heat, lack of oxygen, darkness and uncertainty are mixed with a whole culture of defiance, strong mentality and determination that surrounds nearly 500 families in the Dominican Republic who depend on strokes of luck and popular wisdom to make a living from the extraction of larimar. This semi-precious stone is exclusive to this mountain of Barahona and recognized as our national stone,” Deschamps explained.
In Search of the Blue Heart made its premiere at DOC NYC in New York (the largest documentary festival in the United States) and has won some awards, including “Best Short Documentary” at the Florence Film Awards. The film is the first short documentary by journalist and documentary filmmaker Amelia Deschamps. It is her thesis work in the specialty of Documentary Filmmaking that she recently did at the New York Film Academy, in New York.
