“I know what gold does to men’s souls.” – Howard (Walter Huston), Treasure of Sierra Madre (1948). Houston’s film focused on how quickly the lust and greed for gold could blacken the human soul, but Huston’s tale was fictional; a quaint, slightly juvenile morality tale. Audiences could always console themselves with the thought that director John Huston had exercised his artistic license and exaggerated the power gold could have over men in order to make a point. The truth, however, is even more brutal than fiction.
Documentarian/Indie filmmaker Simon Panay can confirm that gold fever and the consequences that come with it are all too real for the illegal gold miners of Benin, Africa. The message of his short documentary, Nobody Dies Here is a modern echo to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Both films display the ironic effect gold has on man – where gold itself is a beautiful, lustrous metal, it turns men into ugly beasts. Gold is infinitely malleable, yet it drives men to their breaking points. Gold never corrodes or appears to age, yet for over two millennia, it has corroded the souls of men.
See ‘Nobody Dies Here’ on Sunday, February 25 1PM at Cinema Village (22 East 12th Street) as part of New York City’s 7th Annual Winter Film Awards International Film Festival.
Panay’s film focuses on the rogue gold mining activities that are occurring at the once abandoned Perma gold mine in the West African country of Benin. The majority of these miners are unemployed farmers from the surrounding countries who are desperately seeking a way to provide for their families. The men completely lack any tools, training or safety equipment, making what would be in the best circumstances a hazardous job into a suicidal one. Some start mining along the river bed for practice, but to get to the real wealth one must travel down great depths into the mountain. “There are absolutely no places to put your feet or hands. I had to go down slow. It is quite dangerous”, says Panay. It’s impossible to know how many are working in this mine, perhaps 800 total. Many are injured or even killed, but given the illicit nature of the work an exact toll will never be known.
While Panay’s film chronicles the activity at one site, the significance of his effort becomes clearer when one considers that there are over 500 abandoned mines being used illegally in Africa. In addition to the economic desperation of the masses, other factors driving this activity include an active Nigerian mafia and easily bribed government officials eager to turn a blind eye towards such activities.
Panay’s production efforts rival those of the miners in his film. To begin with, he self-financed the production. Pre-production lasted for about a month and the original plan was to shoot the illegal gold mining activities for five weeks on location. Unfortunately, his five weeks were cut to a mere nine days as the army intervened to halt mining operations. Unwilling to let his vision die, he was forced to improvise and altered what was supposed to be a feature length documentary into a documentary short. With that said, Panay and his team have done a fantastic job of shedding light on this controversial activity and giving audience members a good understanding of the motives of the illegal miners and the consequences of their actions.
Panay is not naïve to think his short documentary alone can halt these activities overnight. It would be impossible to change the economic realities of the miners or challenge the criminal organizations and corrupt governments. Like any good documentary director, however, he simply seeks to place the subject in front of an audience, allow them to absorb it, and hope it affects a change in attitudes or behavior. Panay declared, “I would like gold miners and gold buyers to be more aware of the corruption and what they are truly getting involved in.”
Fortunately, Panay’s voice joins a chorus alerting the public on this topic. Many third world nations are dealing with similar situations as evidenced by an article in the January 2018 edition of Scientific America on the toll illegal gold mining is taking on the Peruvian rain forest. The Peruvian government also seems at a loss as to how to check these activities before they destroy the ecosystem. Fortunately, we have entered the age of social media where it is no longer unreasonable to hope that a small film with a big idea can have an outsized voice and important consequences. Panay is content to let his documentary speak for itself, like any documentary film maker.
– By Peter Bell, Winter Film Awards
Peter Bell
Peter Bell (@PeterGBell25) is a 2016 Master of Arts – Film Studies graduate of Columbia University School of Arts in New York City. His interests include film history, film theory and film criticism. Ever since watching TCM as a child, Peter has had a passion for film, always trying to add greater context to film for others. His favorite films include Chinatown, Blade Runner, Lawrence of Arabia, A Shot in the Dark and Inception. Peter believes movie theaters are still the optimal forum for film viewing, discussion and discovering fresh perspectives on culture. He is currently free lance writing for Vague Visages.
About Winter Film Awards
New York City’s 7th Annual Winter Film Awards International Film Festival runs February 22-March 3 2018. Check out our jam-packed lineup of 93 fantastic films in all genres from 31 countries, including Animation, Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Horror, Documentary and Music Video. Hollywood might ignore women and people of color, but Winter Film Awards celebrates everyone!
Winter Film Awards is an all volunteer, minority- and women-owned registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2011 in New York City by a group of filmmakers and enthusiasts. The program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the NY State Council on the Arts.
