It's a modern real-life tale of David vs Goliath set to music. The activism of the people of the rural community of Covas do Barroso against a British lithium mining giant will be shared on the silver screens across Portugal this week
Paulo Carneiro's 'Savannah and the Mountain' centres on the northern mountainous Boticas community in Trás-os-Montes and their fight for their land after discovering that the firm plans to build Europe's largest open-pit lithium mine just a few metres from their homes.
Since winning high praise from critics at Cannes last year, where it premiered at the Director's Fortnight section, the film's release has been eagerly anticipated.
Director's Cut
Its director Paulo Carneiro describes it as a documentary fiction, depicting activism and resistance in the form of a musical western.
"The people of Covas do Barroso were poorly represented by a documentary, because we needed to put them into action, we needed to take the struggle out of the office, out of the emails, out of the scientific papers that have to be read and re-read and analysed by specialists, and put the struggle into practice, show the struggle in practice," said Carneiro.
"We live in one of the most isolated regions of the country, but in 2018 it was recognised as a World Agricultural Heritage Site because of the way we live, the way we work the land, the way we relate to nature," says Aida Fernandes, who is part of the film's cast, as well as being president of the local community of Covas do Barroso.
"When we see a project like this on our doorstep, which endangers everything we have, the way we live, we run the risk of having to leave our place... The film portrays exactly that, our pain," she added.
The struggle is amplified by the intervention of Carlos Libo's soundtracks and the authenticity that the inhabitants of Covas do Barroso bring to the film. The expectation, in the eyes of director Paulo Carneiro, is that it will fill cinemas and achieve success nationwide, not just in the major cities.
Lithium legacy
Portugal has the largest lithium reserves in Europe, with 28 million metric tonnes of high grade lithium. In recent years, Covas do Barroso has been in the news for its people's fight against the advancement of lithium mining by British company, Savannah Resources, which holds a concession there to exploit a total area of 542 hectares.
The company is currently prospecting in Covas do Barroso after former Secretary of State for Energy Maria João Pereira eased some of the administrative processes and bureaucratic hurdles in December.
It is on the basis of the administrative easement map that Savannah Resources pays compensation for the use of the land for a year, the company's CEO, Emanuel Proença, confirmed to Euronews in December last year.
At the end of March, the European Union made this exploration one of 47 strategic mining projects at a European level. The argument for betting on lithium, used in the production of batteries for electric cars, is its importance for the energy transition.
The residents are refusing to let up the fight. On 14 April, around 25 people gathered in the community in solidarity with a landowner who was allegedly asked by the National Republican Guard to remove a trailer from his land that's preventing Savannah Resources' machines from passing through.
The man, Benjamim Gonçalves, was reportedly 'requested' to do so against the backdrop of arrest. Aida Fernandes was one of the people present at this show of strength.
Gonçalves, claims that the plot of land in question is not included in Savannah Resources' deal with the government, that authorises the mining company to work on private and public land. Others in the community also support his viewpoint.
