The Pit

Jona Gerlach / United States / 2019 / European Premiere / 10 min.

synopsis

Contemporary and archival footage of the Berkeley Pit, an open pit copper mine in Montana – today filled with contaminated water – is chemically altered using poisonous substances from this water containing copper, arsenic, cadmium, zinc, and sulfuric acid in order to call attention to the destructive consequences of mining.

“The film shows the destructive consequences of mine waste through a variety of photochemical processes using the same contaminants found in the water of the pit.“ J. Gerlach

biography

Jona Gerlach is an American author and filmmaker. After earning a degree in English, he went on to study media arts. He began making films in 2015, when his debut film 14 Homicides was shown at the Ji.hlava festival. Gerlach combines experimentation with elements of documentary film, with a focus on social issues. Besides video, he also experiments with classic film material.