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Amelia Deschamps

Synopsis

Daniel, father of eleven children, dives every day into the dangerous and rustic tunnels of the “Los Chupaderos” mine in Barahona, in search of LARIMAR, a “sea-blue” colored semi-precious stone exclusive to this mountain in the Dominican Republic.

Following a community tradition, Daniel and his companions descend through the holes that they themselves dig little by little, in an artisanal way, with few or almost no safety mechanisms. Defying luck and even death in search of the desired stone.

 

For Daniel, this is his last chance. After 32 years working as a hill chopper, Daniel seeks to make this last extraction to retire.

 

Blue Heart premiered at DOC NYC in New York (the largest documentary film festival in USA) and has won several awards, including “Best Short Documentary” at the Fine Arts Film Festival “Made in DR” and at the Florence Film Awards.

Director Statement

This is a story about the people: the miners.

Through Daniel’s life, “In Search of the Blue Heart” explores the lives of LARIMAR miners: how they think, how they act and why. What pushes them to risk their lives going into those deep, unsafe, artisanal tunnels to extract the LARIMAR?

This beautiful semi-precious blue stone that is known as the National Stone of the Dominican Republic is still extracted in an artisanal, rudimentary, and dangerous way.

The miners submerge little by little into deep tunnels that they dig in a rustic way towards the depth of a mountain, in a rural community of Barahona, to extract this stone that is exclusive to this place.

Around the LARIMAR mine has been woven a whole culture of dreams, aspirations, optimism and hopes of many families who fight to achieve a better life using the tools that surround them. Dreams that are only possible from self-determination and attitude.
Is it worth the risk?

Amelia Deschamps, Directora y DP - Freddy Ogando, Audio | In Search of the Blue Heart

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Credits

Director and producer:
Amelia Deschamps

Featuring:
Daniel Quezada

DP: Amelia Deschamps
Camera assistant and associate producer: Freddy Ogando
Field producer: Benjamín Batista
Drone: Ángel Rodríguez y Everst Cuevas
Script: Amelia Deschamps
Editor: Amelia Deschamps

Music:
Original Music: Edgar Molina, percusionista.
Library Music:
“Savage” by ANBR. Adrián Berenguer.
“Ambush (Suspense music)” by NightWolfCFM. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 at Freesound.org

Graphic Design:
Oreana Franchy
Feauturing:
Rodolfo Feliz
Dania Medina
Kebelin Feliz
Raudy Feliz
Manuel Feliz
Dr.Vinicio Mateo, neumólogo.
Luisito Guebara
Luis Mario
Jeremías

Special thanks:
Leonela López, Agustín Deschamps y Amín Deschamps
Benjamín Batista, Freddy Ogando, Yensi Fernando, Domingo Abréu e Ico Abréu
Abinadab Alberto, Gary Merson, Graciano Gaillard y Teresa Hidalgo
Daniel Quezada y Rodolfo Feliz

NYFA
Andrea Swift
Bob Eisenhardt
Eddy Rosenstein
Claudia Raschke
Amanda Brzezowski
And all my NYFA teachers.
All the miners from “Los Chupaderos” mine (Larimar)
Cooperativa de Producción y Trabajo, Las Filipinas, Pte. Juan Francisco Feliz
Asociación Nuestra Sra. de las Mercedes (Félix Minier)
Dirección General de Minería
Rolando Muñoz y Uladislao Lora
Museo del Larimar:
Jorge Caridad and Joarla Caridad

My classmates: NYFA Spring 2021

Oreana Franchy
Ellen Gabriel
Charnell Blizzard
Ina Peters
Muna Chung
John Nyberg
Gustavo Ballesteros
Lissa Wills

Produced at New York Film Academy – Spring 2021

#BlueHeart

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