Plot

Valeria is the sole inhabitant of a small Romanian village, deserted due to the tons of mud from the nearby copper mine that have flooded the area, raising the level of the polluted local lake and drowning everything in their path. Only the church spire is now visible, strongly reminiscent of our own "weeping meadow." With fortitude, stoicism, and courage, the elderly woman, accompanied by her few animals and some citizens who ask her to do what seems reasonable, refuses to leave her land, which now resembles a dystopian thriller. A disturbing socio-ecological documentary that revolves around its central protagonist, who literally gives lessons in life, dignity, and perseverance, standing tall in the face of utter destruction. The landscape photography is stunning, with the camera capturing images that balance between eerie beauty and total devastation.—Thessaloniki Documentary Festival

Valeria is one of the last remaining residents in Geamana, a village nestled in a breathtaking valley in the Carpathian Mountains. Her husband passed away, and her son has long since moved to the city. Now, her faithful companions are her dog Duracell and her mischievous cow Pauna. Valeria doesn't need much more than this, just a little peace, but her world is shrinking before her eyes. The water level in the artificial lake created for the nearby copper mine during the Ceausescu dictatorship is rising steadily. Its orange waters, polluted by industrial waste, are consuming the land, and only a lonely church steeple stands as a reminder of where the once-thriving village center once stood. This gorgeous and heartfelt debut film compassionately captures how far-reaching environmental changes affect the fateful choices of a woman in the final act of her life.—Docaviv International Documentary Film Festival

High in the Romanian mountains, a dam was hastily built to collect the effluent from a megalomaniac copper mine, flooding an entire village. Only the church spire still protrudes from the toxic slurry. Despite this, for over 40 years Valeria has held on to her piece of earth where she lives in a small farmhouse on the hillside just a few meters away from the lake. How much longer can this continue? A true cinema experience.—DOK.fest München

Once upon a time, a thousand people lived in the village of Geamana, in the Apuseni Mountains, in Romania. In the 1970s, Nicolae Ceausescu's dictatorship installed a copper mine in the administrative district of Alba, which dumped toxic waste right in Geamana. Today only the spire of the church tower remains, rising above the waters of an artificial reservoir, infected by the toxic mud that submerges everything in its path. The houses have sunk and the inhabitants have fled. Valeria Prata is the only one left in this deserted village. Accompanied by her few animals, she fights to defend her home and to avoid being uprooted from her land and roots, while the incredible images of the devastation and the folk music reflect her nostalgia. Some citizens advise her to do what seems reasonable, and abandon her land now transformed into a dystopian thriller, but Valeria resists with dignity and courage.—Film Festival Della Lessinia