The Black Tree

A superbly shot and poetic documentary about Martín, an indigenous goat farmer from the Qom (or Toba) community, in a province of Argentina bordering Paraguay. His struggle for land rights and environmental security sets him in direct opposition to the agribusiness behemoths; the urgency of his fight underlined by the fatal condition tragically picking off his beloved goats one animal at a time. Impassioned assemblies and illegal roadblocks form part of the Qom’s methods, but Martín also turns to an ancient and magical solution: a pilgrimage to the elusive Black Tree, with its mythical power to break a curse. In following his journey, the filmmakers hoped to find in this magical world view perhaps some alternative way to restore our damaged planet.