DON BENJAMÍN
Iván Zahinos / Spain / 2024 / 29 min / Colour
Born and raised in Bolivia, Don Benjamín has always lived in the Amazon forest, which for him is a source of life, food and health, like a divinity. However, for five years farmers have been setting fires to clear the land for their crops. His world has been reduced to ashes, but he reacts by doing everything he can to bring it back to its splendour, with the collaboration of his family. Don Benjamin is very direct about this: it is not about making space for new land, but about erasing the previous one. "We are destroying oxygen and the lives of our children," he says. "If we have the strength to destroy something, we also have the strength to rebuild it." The photography balances the red of the destructive fire with the hopeful, lush green of nature, leaving room for reflection on the current problems facing the Amazon.
Iván Zahinos
A photographer, producer, and author of documentaries, he has travelled mainly in Africa and Europe. He collaborated and produced the short film Maldita. A Love Song to Sarajevo (2021), was awarded the Goya 2023 by the Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas of Madrid. Don Benjamín (2024) marked his directing debut.
Credits
Screenplay Ivàn ZahinosCinematography Adro MolinaSound Heberth Sánchez, Claudia BauliesEditing David SprangerMusic Marvin Harold MontesProduction company En los Confines Producciones, Medicusmundi Mediterrània
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