In the 16th century, Potosí (Bolivia) was one of the world's most important cities — more populous than London or Madrid. Its silver mine in the Cerro Rico mountain produced an unfathomable amount of silver that bankrolled the Spanish Empire and reshaped the global economy. Today, hardly anyone has heard of this once-mighty city.
The Fortune of Potosí: Ferocious, Fabled, Forgotten (26min, 2025) juxtaposes this glittering past with its harsh contemporary reality. Going inside the mines themselves, the film captures intimate portraits of modern miners working under dangerous conditions. Despite the passage of centuries, they still use tools and techniques eerily reminiscent of the colonial era. Combining expert historical insight with vivid animations, the 25-minute documentary reveals how Potosí's silver laid the foundations for global trade.
From ferocious labor to fabled silver to historical obscurity, Potosí embodies centuries of extraction. Weaving historical revelation with contemporary testimony, the film is a stark reminder of the human cost behind the minerals that fuel our modern lives.
