The remote Andean village of Turubamba is struck by a mercury spill. In Iraq, a war photographer, Grace, is forced to take a picture of the assassination of her local guide, Omar. The extraordinary photo of Omar’s death is nominated for a Pulitzer Prize but Grace withdraws it and renounces her profession. Her Belgian husband, Max, is a cataract surgeon who is on his way to South America to join a team of doctors at an itinerant eye clinic. Max reluctantly leaves Grace in Belgium in a state of insomniac despair. Saturnina, a girl from Turubamba, is preparing for her upcoming wedding to her beloved, Ignacio. Her mother falls mysteriously ill, so Saturnina brings her to the nearby clinic where foreign doctors, including Max, are working. Saturnina’s fiancé, Ignacio, unexpectedly dies from exposure to mercury. The devastated villagers turn their blind rage against the foreign doctors. In the ensuing riot, Max is killed. Saturnina’s will to fight against the mines transforms into a will to die in protest against the endless violations towards her people and land. Grace must now deal with the grief of having lost Max. She undertakes a journey of mourning to the place of his death. As she crosses the altiplano she enters a zone where the invisible becomes visible. Grace brushes against the soul of Saturnina and mysteriously regains her will to live. The sacrifice of Saturnina becomes the redemption of Grace. ALTIPLANO is a lyrical and probing film about our divided but inextricably linked world.

European Film Festival Palic Serbia 2010

Cannes 2009 Sélection officielle de la semaine de la critique

Grand Prix Bangkok International Film Festival 2009

Golden Kinnaree for environmental awareness Bangkok International Film Festival

Grand Prix Festival of European Cinema of Virton 2009