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Earth’s Children (Hijos de la tierra)

Earth’s Children (Hijos de la tierra)

Diego Sarmiento | 2019 | Peru | 14min

Early in the morning, young Jorge sets off with his machete to harvest bananas, making every blow count. After the bananas have been boiled it is time for breakfast. After that, Jorge and his friends are free to wander the lush vegetation that surrounds their home – climbing, having fun, singing harvest songs and splashing about in the headwaters of the Amazon. Seen through the eyes of children, these everyday scenes describe the peaceful lives of an indigenous village community.

Best Documentary Short Film – Adult Jury Prize. Chicago International Children’s Film Festival. USA
Best Documentary Film. Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival. Sharjah, UAE.
Best Short Film. FICWallmapu – Indigenous People Film Festival. Chile.
Special Prize – Moscow International Film Festival for the Young Audience CAT. Russia.
Special Prize – Cochabamba International Film Festival. Bolivia.

Executive Producer: Álvaro Sarmiento
Script: Jorge Tapullima & Alvaro Sarmiento
Photography: Álvaro Sarmiento, Diego Sarmiento,Lucía Czernichowsky
Sound: Renerio Tapullima, Watson Sangama, Harry Sangama
Editor: Alex Cruz
Color Correction: Jorge Sabana

Director Biography

Diego Sarmiento’s feature debut as director and cinematographer, Green River. The Time of the Yakurunas was premiered at the Berlinale Forum 2017 and the MoMA Doc Fortnight 2018.

Mothers of the Land (2019), his second feature documentary was premiered at the 69 Berlin Film Festival. In 2020, HDPERU won the  Berlinale Talents Footprints – Mastercard Enablement Programme award, having Wim Wenders as president of the jury, with “The Seed Project” where he will take the film to schools in rural communities in the Peruvian Andes. Diego has directed several short films, two of which premiered at the Berlinale: Earth’s Children (Generation K-Plus 2014) and Sonia’s Dream (Culinary Cinema 2015). Diego studied Media Production at the Universidad Catolica in Peru and a Documentary Filmmaking Master at EICTV in Cuba.

Director Statement

As a descendent of Quechua farmers, I dedicate my life to making films that help defend the rights of indigenous peoples of the Andes and the Peruvian Amazon. My audiovisual work also helps preserve our intangible cultural heritage.

‘Earth’s Children’ came into creation as part of the Indigenous Amazonian Video Project, which aims to teach documentary filmmaking skills to indigenous people in the Peruvian Amazon. This workshops took place in the Kechwa-Lamista native community, in San Martin. The goal of the project is to produce short-documentaries created completely by the inhabitants of the indigenous Amazonian community.

Conscious of the threats facing Peru’s cultural heritage this project hopes to utilise video technology to preserve and amplify the voices of the participating indigenous communities. This project give to indigenous citizens the opportunity to transmit the richness of their culture, their customs, and local traditions with the world.

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