Best Bolivian documentary movies
A curated collection of popular documentary movies from Bolivia.
Revolution (1963)
Revolution (1963)
Documentary that offers a great overview of the history of Bolivia, their misery, the popular indomitable spirit and repressions that occur without pause.
Sayariy (1995)
Sayariy (1995)
Set in the remote Andes of Bolivia, “Sayariy” records a mysterious annual tradition in which two mountain tribes face off in a bloody ceremonial fight known as Tinku.
Las banderas del amanecer (1982)
Las banderas del amanecer (1982)
carefully reconstructs the events in Bolivia between 1979 and 1982. Dark years. Speaking of Alberto Natush's coup d'etat, the massacre of Todos Santos, the murders of Luis Espinal and Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz, the worker, peasant and student mobilizations, García Meza Tejada's coup d'etat and the return to the democratic process.
Daughter of the Lake (2015)
Daughter of the Lake (2015)
At the height of the Peruvian gold rush, Nélida, an Andean woman able to communicate with water spirits, uses her powers to prevent a mining corporation from destroying the body of water she considers her mother. A gold deposit valued at billions of dollars lies just beneath Nélida’s lakes and leads farmers and Latin America’s biggest gold producer into conflict.
The Thousand Year Journey (2015)
The Thousand Year Journey (2015)
Routine is the enemy of time. Jedidiah Jenkins rides his bicycle from Oregon to Patagonia, the southern tip of South America, while expounding upon ideas that made him leave a job he loved for the open road.
Der Pfad des Kriegers (2008)
Der Pfad des Kriegers (2008)
Die Geschichte von Michael, dem Ministranten aus S‚dtirol, der in Bolivien zu Comandante Miguel wird. Als angehender Priester will Michael noch friedlich gegen Armut kƒmpfen, f‚r die Verzweifelten, f‚r mehr soziale Gerechtigkeit. Doch mit 29 Jahren geht er in den Untergrund und entf‚hrt einen Industriellen. Bei der Befreiungsaktion erschiesst ihn die Polizei.
Still Burn (2018)
Still Burn (2018)
General Alfredo Ovando Candia was a decisive figure in 20 th century Bolivian history. Through old home movies and institutional footage, Mauricio Ovando goes in search of the figure (and the shadow) of his grandfather, interweaving his history and History while going after an uncomfortable truth.
Mein fremdes Land (2022)
Mein fremdes Land (2022)
A Bolivian by birth, who grew up with adoptive parents in the Swabian town of Mössingen, is looking for his family in the mountains of Potosí. Out of poverty, his mother gave the little boy away when he was just a few months old. The search carries a story that goes far beyond personal fate. Because Manuel was born in a region known for the ruthless exploitation of silver. It's a film about identity, homeland and equal opportunities.
Cerro Saturno (2022)
Cerro Saturno (2022)
Amid the lunar landscapes of the Bolivian mountains, the few traces of human presence seem minuscule, anecdotal. Shot by shot, Miguel Hilari’s camera follows these clues that lead to the city and its sonic confusion, where faces are captured with the same attention and poetry as the environment in which they live.
Bala perdida (2010)
Bala perdida (2010)
On January 29, 1982, when the author of this story was one year eight months old, her brother Oswaldo died while doing military service. The military experts' verdict was: "accident due to a stray bullet". Since then, the family made a decision to confine his memory to oblivion. The documentary recounts this family's story, which is, at the same time, a facet of the country's history.
Minerita (2013)
Minerita (2013)
Minerita is the story of three women, Lucia (40), Ivonne (16) and Abigail (17), working as guards inside the potosi mine in Bolivia and struggling to survive in a hell unsuitable for life when they have to defend themselves from men converted into vermin. Their only weapons, courage... and dynamite.
Come Back, Sebastiana (1953)
Come Back, Sebastiana (1953)
The story of a poor girl who leaves her starving family and sheep for a more prosperous village. Her grandfather finds her and tries to convince her to return to her home.
That's how it is, and what! (2017)
That's how it is, and what! (2017)
Abraham Bojórquez - Ukamau Y Ké - developed hop hop in the Aymara language and with his rebellious lyrics, shook up Latin American society in the early 21st century. At the cusp of his musical career he died violently the same day he finished recording his second record. Years later, his friend, the rapper and documentarian, Andrés Ramírez returns to Bolivia to uncover the reasons for his death and to find him among the Andean circular temporality. In this surreal journey, Ukamau y Ké is revived through archival footage, testimonials and in dreams.
Women of the Mine (2014)
Women of the Mine (2014)
Portraits of three women who live and work in the infamous mines of El Cerro Rico in Bolivia. Work inside the mines has been limited to men, while the women are forced to work outside searching for mineral scraps on the side of the mountain. The film highlights the women's strength, determination and resilience in the face of struggle and hardship.
The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom (2010)
The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom (2010)
Fifty years after the fall of his country, can the Dalai Lama make a breakthrough in his efforts to find a solution to the Tibet question?
Company (2019)
Company (2019)
In Bolivia, in a small mountain village, the daily rhythm seems marked by a time that no longer exists, by nature’s invisibles forces, by the will of the gods. In this place where there is no longer a difference between dreams and reality, during the festival of the dead, one can almost hear the voices of those who are no longer there, creating an invisible bridge between past and present.
Celestial Burial (1997)
Celestial Burial (1997)
This documentary follows the whole process of a celestial burial ceremony in Tibet. It shows Tibetan religious customs, arts, and many vanishing life styles.
Doña Helena Palliri (1983)
Doña Helena Palliri (1983)
The Palliri are the gleaners who recover, at the exit of the galleries in the mines, some pieces of minerals. Poor of the poor, Doña Helena works and lives in the highest mine in Bolivia, some 6,000 meters above sea level.ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
Carreras (Course automobile en roue libre) (1983)
Carreras (Course automobile en roue libre) (1983)
The annual competition between mining camps, or how to move as quickly as possible from 2,000 to 4,000 meters on four wheels and without engine.
Aysa (1965)
Aysa (1965)
A Bolivian miner belonging to the pirquiñeros (independent workers that extracts ore in dangerous places abandoned by mining companies considered depleted) struggles to get some mineral by drilling the rock only with a chisel and a hammer.
Spirit Possession of Alejandro Mamani (1974)
Spirit Possession of Alejandro Mamani (1974)
An old Bolivian man nears the end of his life. He has property and status, but not contentment. Believing himself posessed by evil spirits, he opens his heart to reveal his anguish. His personal tragedy brings us close to every man's confrontation with the unknown, old age, and death.