Lars Edman and William Johansson Kalén
Arica
Part of
Arica

Arica

Lars Edman and William Johansson Kalén

2020
95 min.
Sweden, Chile, Belgium, Norway and United Kingdom
Spanish, Swedish and English
Subtitles: Spanish and Catalan

A shocking investigation into toxic dumping in Arica, Chile. A young documentary activist will take a Swedish multinational to court.

Datasheet

Show
Direction
Lars Edman and William Johansson Kalén
Sound
Lars Edman Editing Göran Gester, William Johansson Kalén
Production
Andreas Rocksén, William Johansson Kalén
Co-production
Hanne Phlypo, Andy Jones, Ellie Smith, Karl Emil Rikardsen, José Miguel Garrido
Animation
Johan Lindström
Music
Per-Henrik Mäenpää
Synopsis

A shocking investigation into the illegal dumping of toxic waste in the Chilean city of Arica. Babies with malformations, cancers, miscarriages... The consequences were terrible for the inhabitants of Arica but no one wants to be accountable. Boliden, the Swedish multinational responsible for the events, hid the disaster for decades. Lars Edman, a young Swede of Chilean descent, became interested in the case in 2009 and his search will eventually take the all-powerful company to court.

Boliden’s notoriety goes back a long way. The ecological disaster in the Doñana Natural Park, which polluted the Guadiamar River in 1998 and shook Spanish society, was caused by a toxic spill from the multinational.

The Swedish company has enough resources to clean up its reputation, but the Arica scandal demands deeper reparation than a marketing campaign. Can the Swedish government ignore the demands of the victims? The reality is undeniable, but power is capable of everything to avoid bearing the costs of millionaire compensations.

About the direction
Lars Edman

Lars Edman

Director

Lars Edman was born in Chile and grew up in the Swedish village of Boliden, where the mining company...

William Johansson Kalén

William Johansson Kalén

Director

William Johansson Kalén has worked as a director, producer, DoP and editor since 2006. He is a produ...

DocsBarcelona Trajectory

2022
Docs del Mes · Enero
Edició 2022
2021
DocsBarcelona Festival · Latitud
Edició 2021

Awards and festivals

IDFA Frontlight - International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Netherlands, 2020
AricaDoc
Chile, 2020
HUMAN International Documentary Film Festival
Norway, 2021
Tempo Documentary Festival
Sweden, 2021
Lars Edman and William Johansson Kalén
Arica
Watch the trailer
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Reviews

The good fight is brilliantly told and the film sheds light on a shameful case of modern colonialism.

— Davide Abbatescianni · Cineuropa

The film is a story of strength, loyalty and perseverance. But is also a tale of human frailty.

— Nick Cunningham · Business Doc Europe

A David and Goliath story with a multinational corporation as the culprit.

— Down To Earth

One of “the most interesting takes on the critical discourse against capitalism” at IDFA.

— Point Of View Magazine
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