MÁXIMA
A film by Claudia Sparrow
(USA/Peru, 2019, 88 min. In English and Spanish with, open captions in English)
Maxima tells the incredible story of 2016 environmental Goldman Prize winner Máxima Acuña and her family, who own a small, remote plot in the Peruvian Highlands. The Acuñas rely solely on the environment for their livelihood, but their land sits directly in the path of a multi-billion dollar project run by one of the world’s largest gold-mining corporations. Faced with intimidation, violence, and criminal prosecution, we follow Máxima’s tireless fight for justice, taking her from the Peruvian Supreme Court to the doors of the World Bank in Washington, D.C. Standing ever mighty, Máxima sings of her love of the land in the face of widespread oppression of indigenous people, and relentless attempts to destroy environmental resources that the world relies on.
June 11 - 20, 2020
Human Rights Watch Film Festival, New York
Streams on Hrwfilmfestivalstream.org (available to stream across the US)
June 16, 8pm EDT
Live Q&A with filmmaker Claudia Sparrow and Supervising Attorney at EarthRights International Marissa Vahlsing.
Born and raised in Lima, Peru, Claudia Sparrow has been recognized in El Comercio, the main Peruvian newspaper, and Caras magazine as one of the ten prominent filmmakers in Peru. Sparrow’s debut feature film I Remember You, starred Stefanie Butler and Joe Egender, and was the winner of the Best Dramatic Feature Film at the Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles. Her American Film Institute thesis film El Americano, shot in Lima and Los Angeles, won an Emmy Award in the drama category. Claudia is also the recipient of the Franklin J. Schaffner Fellow Award.
Watch the trailer:
