The Devil's Miner | Bolivian Silver Mines | Independent Lens

July 09, 2024

About the Documentary

The Devil’s Miner is the story of 14-year-old Basilio Vargas and his 12-year-old brother Bernardino, who work in the ancient Cerro Rico silver mines of Bolivia. It is believed that more than eight million workers have perished in the mines since the 16th century.

Raised without a father and living in extreme poverty with their mother and 6-year-old sister on the slopes of the mine, the boys assume many adult responsibilities. It takes two months’ work just to afford the clothing and supplies vital to their education. Without an education, the brothers have no chance to escape their destiny in the silver mines.

The Vargas boys chew coca leaves to stave off hunger and keep their wits about them during their long hours in the mines, where they also present offerings to El Tío, the malevolent spirit that is believed to reside there. Each mine has its own statue of the horned demon who guards the mine’s riches. According to local legend the mines are the exclusive province of El Tío, the protector and destroyer of the miners. El Tío is a miner’s only hope of salvation in this heavily Catholic region, where the people believe that the spirit of God does not exist in the hellish underworld inside the mountain.

Filmmakers Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani spent months with the Vargas family, journeying down into the Cerro Rico mines with Basilio, Bernardino, and the adult villagers who risk their lives to make a meager living. The result is both harrowing and moving, a portrait of a world where children risk their lives daily in hopes of an eventual better life — if the quest doesn’t kill them first.

The Filmmakers

Kief Davidson
Kief Davidson is an award-winning feature film and documentary director born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. His most recent film, The Devil’s Miner, had its world premiere at the Rotterdam Film Festival in 2005 and won over a dozen awards including: Tribeca Film Festival, Hot Docs/Toronto film festival, Chicago International film festival. Most recently, he was nominated for a Director’s Guild Award – Best Documentary Director, as well as Best Documentary Director for the European film prize. In addition, he has directed and produced documentaries for The Discovery Channel, ABC News, PBS and A&E. He is currently directing a feature length documentary about Kassim Ouma, junior middle-weight boxing champion of the world who was a child soldier from Uganda.

Kief began his filmmaking career in 1993 as editor on the Academy Award-nominated documentary, Blood Ties: The Life and Work of Sally Mann. He is the recipient of two Emmy nominations for his work with National Geographic, and on the journalistic film What’s News?, he earned an International Monitor Award for Best Editing. Kief currently divides his time between Los Angeles and New York City.

Richard Ladkani
Richard Ladkani has worked as director and cameraman on documentaries ranging from wildlife (Encounters with the Great White Shark) to political films like Escape Over the Himalayas, a film about Tibetan refugee children, that won 15 international awards. He has also worked as a cinematographer on big-budget historical documentaries involving large-scale reenactments as well as character-driven personal stories shot on location in Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Mongolia.

A 20-part series, Monasteries of the Danube River, earned him the Austrian cinematography award for best picture. Richard prefers to be the cinematographer on the films he directs as often as possible. The Devil’s Miner is his first feature length documentary as a director.

Leonardo Heiblum & Andres Solis
Since 1993, Leonardo Heiblum and Andres Solis have composed, recorded and produced music for projects encompassing feature films, documentaries, advertising, dance and theater. Their feature credits include Joshua Marston’s Maria Full of Grace, Salma Hayak’s The Maldinado Miracle and Eva Lopez’ De que Phe Lado Estas. Leonardo was also music supervisor for Julie Taymor’s Frida. Leonardo and Andres co-own Audioflot, a state-of-the-art recording studio in Mexico City.

Full Credits

A film by
Kief Davidson & Richard Ladkani

Dedicated to the loving memory of Matthew Davidson

Produced and Directed By
Kief Davidson
Richard Ladkani

Cinematography
Richard Ladkani

Edited By
Kief Davidson

Music By
Leonardo Heiblum and Andrés Solis

Second Unit Camera and Sound
Tobias Corts

Co-Producer
Werner Vennewald

Location Management
Raul Mamani

Production Managers
Anita Ragette
Kathleen Davidson

Production Assistants
Alfredo Revilla Fuertes
Obed Mainan Cayo
Oscar Gonzalez

Post Production Sound Services
Orange Sound - Munich
Gizmo Post - Nyc

Sound Design and Mixing
Sound Editor / Mixer - Andy Rudroff
Sound Editor / Mixer- Oliver Vorderbruegge

Additional Mixing
David Glaser

Title Design
Chris Degnan

Legal Services
Spinak & Gray

Very Special Thanks To:

The Miners Of Cerro Rico
Basilio Vargas
Bernardino Vargas
Vanessa Vargas
Manuela Altica Vargas
Braulio Jancko
Padre Jesus
Saturnino Ortega
Francine Davidson
Thomas Davidson
Mathilde Ladkani
Michael Ladkani
Lore And Fritz Ragette
Ivan Rebollero
Jorge Coulon
Silvia Rivera
Marlene Dermer
David Magdael
Stephen Ferry
Claas Danielson
Rudy Buttignol
Elvira Lind
Joshua Marston
Kevin Mack
Laurelle Favreau
Gary Moscato
Brian Mackewich
Nic Johnson
Alton Christenson
Lynn Feinstein
CARE International Kindernothilfe Foundation

Score Musicians
Ernesto Anaya - Guitars, Charango
Tomas Barreiro - Classical Guitar
Emiliano Motta - Flute
Carlos Garcia - Percussion And Flute
Rodrigo Duarte - Cello
Omar Guevara - Violin
Andrés Sanchez – Bass
Ma. Guadalupe Jiménez - Soprano
Gabriela Thierry Palomino - Mezzo
Oscar De La Torre – Tenor
Jorge Cózatl - Baritone

Composed music was produced, recorded
and mixed at Audioflot, Mexico City

Additional Music By
Inti-Illimani

“Alturas”
Composed By Horacio Salinas
Publisher: Coda, Spain
Courtesy of Inti Illimani Inc. and Green Linnet Records ©2004
As Performed Inti-Illimani

“Bailando Bailando”
Composed By Horacio Salinas
Publisher: Coda, Spain
Courtesy of Inti Illimani Inc. and Green Linnet Records ©2004
As Performed Inti-Illimani

“Amores Hallaras”
Written And Arranged By Inti Illimani
Courtesy of Inti Illimani Inc. And Green Linnet Records ©2004
As Performed Inti-Illimani – Studio Recording

An Urban Landscapes and La Mita Loca Films Production

This Program Was Produced By Urban Landscapes Productions, Inc.
Who Is Solely Responsible For Its Content.

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