About the film

Synopsis: Every day huge trucks thunder through the Kyrgyz village of Barskoon. They are carrying a deadly freight: cyanide, which is used to extract gold at the nearby Kumtor goldmine. In 1998, one of the cyanide trucks crashes into the river that runs through the village. People die and hundreds of villagers fall ill. After seven years – in which the Kyrgyz government does nothing – a handful of courageous women begin to fight for the rights of the victims. Erkingul and her fellow campaigners found a small environmental organization, block the road leading to the mine and eventually manage to secure 3.7. million US dollars in compensation from the Kyrgyz-Canadian gold mine.