Het Mirakel van Almería

At the far end of Europe, on the southern border of Spain, lies Almería. It is a huge province completely covered with white plastic, harbouring Europe’s largest vegetable garden. It is the place where our tomatoes come from, even in winter. But under all the plastic, strange things happen… Today, the vegetable garden inevitably moves to Morocco. Spanish farmers dive well under their prices to keep in the race. 120.000 migrants work in slave-like conditions on the plantations.
In The Miracle of Almería, people from the region show the blind spots of the capitalist system. Each from their own perspective, they present film scenes portraying a recent or less recent memory. Using their storytelling and imagination, we discover the underlying economic, political and social dynamics. And their explosive consequences in society.

"In the province of Almería, in southern Spain, greenhouses stretch as far as the eye can see. A desert of sand turned into a landscape of white plastic, an apocalyptic science-fiction setting that can be seen from space through the sunlight it violently reflects, as if attempting to blind our gaze. It is in this landscape that our summer vegetables are grown in winter, on a huge scale and using pesticides, with the help of undocumented migrant workers toiling under slave-like conditions. How did we come to produce most of the fruit and vegetables consumed in Europe in a particularly arid region? In this ensemble film project which draws on a documentary approach and playful mise-en-scène techniques, immigrant workers, former farmers and local residents deconstruct this "miracle of Almería" and shed light on an ongoing economic, social and ecological disaster. This film, carried by a collective impetus, creates a poignant experience for viewers as they watch the protagonists take full ownership of their stories."
(Visions du Réel)

"In der südspanischen Provinz Almería erstrecken sich Gewächshäuser mit weissen Planen so weit das Auge reicht. Wie wurde diese karge Wüste zum Gemüsegarten Europas? Dokumentarisch und mit spielerischen Inszenierungen beleuchten migrantische Arbeitskräfte, ehemalige Bauern sowie Bewohnerinnen und Bewohner der Region eine sich anbahnende wirtschaftliche, soziale und ökologische Katastrophe."
(Visions du Réel)