In 1984, the Swedish mining company Boliden had toxic waste shipped to Chile, where it was supposed to be properly processed. In reality, some of the waste was dumped on the outskirts of the desert town of Arica. The consequences were severe: in the years that followed, residents developed cancer and many babies were born with birth defects.
Lars Edman was born in Chile and grew up in the Swedish village of Boliden, where the mining company had originally been established. The 2009 film Toxic Playground, in which he and co-director William Johansson Kalén first drew attention to the disaster, prompted a lawsuit against Boliden. This case is central to Arica, which also features some familiar figures from the previous film.
Jocelyn, then a young girl, has since named her first child after the filmmakers. Rolf Svedberg, who as Boliden’s former head of environmental issues was partly responsible for shipping the toxic waste, and who previously traveled with the filmmakers to Arica to face the consequences of that decision, is in a predicament. Boliden wants him to testify on its behalf, yet he also appears in clips from Toxic Playground, which the plaintiffs are presenting as evidence against the company.
William Johansson Kalén
Director, Producer
Lars Edman
Director
Andreas Rocksén
Producer
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Acclaimed ‘Arica’ documentary prompts intervention from United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)
UN letters include harsh criticism of Swedish government and Boliden mining company Over 30 years after Swedish mining company Boliden shipped almost 20,000 tonnes of toxic mining waste to the Chilean city of Arica, a group of United Nations Special Rapporteurs
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Praise for ARICA in Swedish press
”The lead children strikes back” ”Political dynamite” "The rich world vs. the poor” ”Powerful and moving court drama” Swedish press is overwhelmingly praising Arica upon its premiere in Sweden.
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Swedish Radio review gives Arica 4/5
"Efficient storytelling, both moving and courtroom-thrilling. A worthy and well done documentary film." (In Swedish) https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/arica-storbolaget-mot-de-fattiga
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ARICA in competition at Human International Documentary Film Festival
NORWEGIAN PREMIERE ARICA will have its Norwegian Premiere at HUMAN International Documentary Film Festival. The film, with Karl Emil Rikardsen at Relation04 Media as the Norwegian co-producer, will be in International Competition. HUMAN International Documentary Festival is Oslo’s largest documentary film festival presenting
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Professor Jonas Ebbesson urges Swedish gov to return Boliden’s waste to Sweden
Professor Jonas Ebbesson, member of the Arica Victims’ legal team in the trial vs Boliden Mineral, writes an Opinion Editorial in Dagens Nyheter, the most significant newspaper in Sweden. Referring to international law, Ebbesson says Sweden has an obligation to involve
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Point Of View Magazine hi-lights ARICA
"The consequences of this brutal act of contemporary colonization and irresponsible capitalism are still visible and painful." POV critic Davide Abbatescianni labels ARICA as a significan "doc against capitalism" http://povmagazine.com/articles/view/idfa-2020-the-just-causes-of-docs-against-capitalism
script and direction LARS EDMAN and WILLIAM JOHANSSON KALÉN produced by ANDREAS ROCKSÉN and WILLIAM JOHANSSON KALÉN co-produced by HANNE PHLYPO, ANDY JONES, ELLIE SMITH, KARL EMIL RIKARDSEN, JOSÉ MIGUEL GARRIDO dop WILLIAM JOHANSSON KALÉN sound engineer LARS EDMAN editing GÖRAN GESTER, WILLIAM JOHANSSON KALÉN animation JOHAN LINDSTRÖM music composed and performed by PER-HENRIK MÄENPÄÄ production LAIKA FILM & TELEVISION in co-production with CLIN D’OEIL FILMS, RADIO FILM, RELATION04 MEDIA, ARICADOC, SVT, RTBF and FILMPOOL NORD with the support of THE SWEDISH FILM INSTITUTE, FILM I VÄSTERBOTTEN, THE SWEDISH ARTS GRANTS COMMITTEE, FILM I STOCKHOLM/FILMBASEN, NORDNORSK FILMSENTER,THE BERTHA FOUNDATION, THE SOLBERGA FOUNDATION, IUCN, NORDIC FILM & TV FUND and CREATIVE EUROPE PROGRAMME OF THE EUROPEAN UNION INTERNATIONAL distribution LIGHTDOX