William Johansson Kalén & Lars Edman | Sweden & Chile | 2020
95 min | Partial Subtitles
CANADIAN PREMIER

A Swedish mining company exports 20,000 tonnes of toxic waste to the Chilean desert town of Arica. Thousands of people become sick, many die from cancer.

Arica plunges us into the groundbreaking corporate accountability trial which begins after Lars Edman - born in Chile and raised in Boliden - exposes the scandal. Alongside his co-director William Johansson, Lars follows the story for 15 years, exposing how decisions made decades ago in Europe continue to affect people in South America.

Part personal journey, part courtroom drama, Arica is the story of an afflicted community fighting for justice against a multinational company desperate to clear their name.

DIRECTOR BIOS

William Johansson Kalén

William met Lars at film school in Chile and since Toxic Playground has continued to work as an investigative journalist, film-maker and editor. His credits include The Essence of Terror, Democracy Road and The Witness - broadcast on SVT, NRK and Al Jazeera.

In 2014 William became a partner at Laika Film and Television in Stockholm, Sweden.

Lars Edman

Born in Chile and raised in Sweden, Lars returned to South America to attend the Valparaiso Film School. Toxic Playground was Lars’ first film which went on to win 6 international awards, screening in over 30 international festivals and being broadcast on TV across Europe.

Since completing Toxic Playground, Lars has retrained as a speech and language therapist and now lives in the north of Norway.