MINIKIT_ENG_V5_small.pdf - Playtime films

THE DEATH
OF
AGE
A documentary by
Benjamin Colaux & Christopher Yates
Five hundred years after the first Spanish colonizers, four Bolivian miners continue to dig
deep into the bowels of the Cerro Rico, which is on the verge of collapse. Day after day, they
fight to find their place amongst the thousands of ghosts who, like them, have violated the
sacred mountain.
«The souls of the dead are always with us.»
Hilarion
6, rue Haubrechts, B-1080 Brussels, Belgium
T: +32 2 502 31 74 / / / F: +32 2 410 65 47
info@playtimefilms.com / / / www.playtimefilms.com

SYNOPSIS
International title
Format
Languages
Subtitles
Location
Planning
Crew
THE AGE OF DEATH
HD / Raw 4K / Stereo / Color / 90’ & 52’
Spanish, Quechua
French, English, Dutch
Potosí (Bolivia)
Production : February - April 2013
Postproduction : July - Octobrer 2013
Release: January 2014
Directors & DOP : Benjamin Colaux & Christopher Yates
Sound engineer: Leny Andrieux
Editor : Mathieu Haessler
Every day, thousands of men are engulfed in the bowels of the Cerro Rico, one of the most ancient
silver mines in Bolivia, which the first Amerindian and African slaves called «The Man-eater». From
the sixteenth century onward and throughout three centuries of Spanish domination, the Quechua
adapted their mythology on the one hand to face the horrors of their work, and on the other to
exorcise a crime they were forced to commit as they mined: the «raping» of Pachamama, Mother
Earth. These men burrow every day through hellish mines, abandoning the majestic landscape of
the Andes for the mine’s dark confinement and looming presence of death.
PANCHO, HILARION, CLAUDIO and MARCO work together at Rebecca, a small mining concession
lost within the immense Cerro Rico. The dangerous nature of their work is exacerbated by recent
fears that the mountain may soon cave in. As this risk grows imminent, these four men will urgently
have to find ways to cope, and will call many things into question. Each one will react in his own way:
by either completely accepting the dangers of his work and embracing his ancestral rituals, or by
leaving the Cerro Rico and thus betraying the sacred heritage imparted upon him.
By taking time to observe the corporeal details and tools that render mining work so palpable, The
Age of Death journeys into a past which still leaves traces in the miner’s every repeated gesture.
This film gets under the skin. It is a sensory journey through fears, dreams, legends and indigenous
superstitions as they come up against the reality of daily life.

TREATMENT
« Anything can happen if you’re afraid»
Claudio
The Cerro Rico is a giant ant hill that has brought death to millions of workers over the past
five centuries. The first time we entered the mine, our anxieties grew as we pushed further
into the distant, cramped dark spaces. In this claustrophobic, asphyxiating space, the work
is of unparalleled difficulty and death is omnipresent. Once we enter the dark cavities, the
slightest gesture becomes indistinguishable. We can only make out the occasional facial feature
amongst the passing shadows, human forms partially illuminated by head lamps as they appear
and disappear into the mine’s eternal night. We suffocate and lose sense of time and space.
We left this dust-and-legend-filled microcosm with the sensation of having penetrated a ghost world
reminiscent, in some ways, of our childhood fears. When we brought up these impressions, Pancho,
Hilarion, Claudio and Marco all wished to recount their experiences and encounters with ghosts,
as well as the tales of their ancestors. They constantly repeated that the most important thing is to
control one’s fear.
« A miner must constantly struggle to remain lucid. The slightest sound nourishes his fear and
amplifies the risk of accident.» Pancho.
This is the introspective and visceral voyage we wish to take with the audience. We want the viewer
to enter this sweating, suffocating place, lost in a mountainous mass that may one day collapse on
itself. In this dark place, our mind does not immediately grasp what the eye perceives. The miner is
no longer an individual, he appears as a grey shape, silhouetted by the light of his head lamp.
Outside, each man struggles to make his mark on his family and memory. Whether a family meal,
a nightclub party or a swim in the hot springs, they enjoy every moment as if it were their last. We
want to capture their sense of time, hold on to the serenity they cultivate in each of these fleeting
moments.

Mining in the Cerro Rico is currently forbidden above 4500 meters. Considering the grave situation,
groups of engineers and geologists climb the summit one after the other in an attempt to convince
the authorities that all mining activity should cease. Each of our four main characters will have a
different way of evolving in response to this threat.
PANCHO, 56, was the concession supervisor in 2010 when only a small, unified family of four miners
worked in Rebecca. He was responsible for all the important tasks. A few months later, he contracted
a mining disease: Silicosis. He has a chronic cough and is perfectly aware of what he must do – quit
Rebecca. Especially since he’s suspected of having unequally distributed pay during his time as a
supervisor. His departure upsets the group’s balance.
At 31, HILARION is already a «senior». Since he was 8, he’s been following his father to Moropoto,
the most ancient Spanish mine still in use. Now that Pancho no longer supervises the Rebecca
mine, this responsability falls to him. At first, it seemed too heavy a burden to be responsible for
heading a group at his age. He had to overcome his fears and shyness to become a real leader.
«I thank my father for pushing me to become a supervisor. We’re young, especially me, but I’m
learning little by little. As long as you stick with me, with the group, without giving up, we’ll get
there.» He understands that his life will forever be intertwined with the Cerro Rico and tries to follow
tradition. His unique sensitivity guides us through the traces of ghosts and legends that stoke both
his enthusiasm and his fears. The slightest accident or sign of illness could prove disastrous for his
family. His new position as a supervisor progressively distances him from his friends and brings him
closer, like his father, to becoming an inseparable part of «the man-eater».
CLAUDIO, 24, is Hilarion’s brother. Their youngest brother commits suicide three days before
Christmas Eve 2010. He refuses to accept it and claims his brother’s been murdered. Throughout the
following year, he sinks into alcoholism. His new responsibilities as an associate could help put him
on the track to sobriety. But he remains unstable: a private person capable of extreme outbursts. He
cannot find his place and must make a choice. If he feels he still has time to choose another life, he
could quit Rebecca, thereby disowning his family and ancestral traditions… «This place is our guide,
it is where we win or we lose.»

MARCO, 27, is a «driller», a prestigious yet dangerous job. Within Rebecca, he’s in charge of regulating
the air supply using a compressor. «Some say it’s just a job and that they’re just colleagues. But
here we have a sense of community and humility. We’re more than friends, we’re brothers.»
Regardless, he decides to leave for Santa Rita, a mine counting four hundred salaried workers where
the conditions are more dangerous but the pay is better. He hopes to quit the Cerro Rico for a job in
the city. He dresses like a European, a Guns N’ Roses cap on his head and a Metallica t-shirt on his
back. He’s started a rock band with some friends from the city. He lives in an apartment along the
Potosí hillsides and enjoys watching the lights below, there «where the rich people live».
As we get closer to these individuals, whose questions and doubts make up the film’s interior
voice, we make our way towards revealing their future ghostness. The theme of ghostliness echoes
Cerro Rico’s fragile state: If the mountain were to disappear, the village would be deserted. These
elements come together to create a whole, bringing us to the most touching aspect of the story for
us as directors: the fragility of the mine and the city, of men and of life.
THE FILM
It’s now been more than two years since Benjamin Colaux and Christopher Yates shared with us
their dream of telling the story of these four Bolivian miners, courageous and condemned, prisoners
of another time. Aside from the purely human aspect that this kind of story touches upon, we were
automatically won over by the directors’ unique storytelling approach. As we too visited the myths
and stories surrounding these excavations (which go as far back to the arrival of the first Spanish
settlers), we discovered an irresistible desire to share this epic tale of men confronting the gods, the
ghosts, and the mountain.
Both directors have been close to us for a long time. We know their talent as narrators and the
integrity of their artistic and documentary process. These two authors are not compelled by the vain
desire to hunt sensational images, rather they search for the simple truth behind their characters.
After several preparatory trips, they’ve built a sincere bond of friendship with the miners. They work
as a small team (aided only by a sound engineer) with the most discreet, compact equipment in
order to protect this intimacy and be able to film in the most confined locations.
During the three location scouts conducted in 2010, 2011 and 2012, we managed to collect a
substantial quantity of film material. This material essentially covers the work in the mines, the
Potosí city surroundings, and the general atmosphere and ambiance of the film. Although a good
amount of material related to the characters’ lives has been covered (family life, scenes of conflict
and doubt amongst the miners…), this essential narrative aspect remains to be filmed.
STRATEGY & FINANCING
With the help of the Federation Wallonie Bruxelles (French speaking film Institute), Wallonie
Image Production and the Coopération au Développement DGD (Belgian Foreign Affairs Office), we
succeeded in garnering support for this project from the Belgian State. We’ve enlisted Off World, a
Brussels-based Flemish production company that often collaborates with us, to promote the project
from their angle. Off World has succeeded in gathering support from the Vlaamse audiovisueel
Fonds (Dutch speaking film institute) and MEDIA. We’ve also elicited interest from the international
distribution company Rise and Shine, based in Germany.
We’re counting on a series of pre-sales and a possible TV co-production, notably in Germany,
Switzerland, France, Spain and Scandinavia. We would also like the film to be distributed in Latin
America, particularly in Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. Finally, we envision finalizing our financing

BUDGET
DESCRIPTION
FINANCING PLAN
Euros (€)
Developement 17.027,50
Artistic rights 1.500,00
Crew 133.300,00
Transportation / Per Diem / Production expenses 37.754,00
Equipement 23.384,58
Raw stock & Lab 51.377,00
Insurance & miscellaneous 16.408,00
Subtotal A 280.751,08
Contingencies 18.000,00
Authors 12.000,00
Subtotal B 310.751,08
Producer salary 29.000,00
Subtotal C 339.751,08
Overheads 23.782,58
TOTAL GENERAL
363.533,66
BELGIUM - FRENCH SPEAKING PART
Playtime Films 3.971,16 1% confirmed
Kilou.be (industry) 5.312,50 1% confirmed
Reveka asbl 10.000,00 2% confirmed
Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles 88.000,00 24% confirmed
Wallonie Image Production 15.000,00 4% confirmed
DGCD (foreign affairs) 35.000,00 10% confirmed
Tv coproduction & Pre buys 100.000,00 28% To be found
TAX SHELTER 36.000,00 10% Pending
BELGIUM - DUTCH SPEAKING PART
Off world 1.500,00 1% confirmed
Vlaamse audiovisueel fonds 33.750,00 9% confirmed
MEDIA 25.000,00 7% confirmed
Lichtpunt 10.000,00 3% Pending
TOTAL 363.533,66 100%

BIOGRAPHIES
BENJAMIN COLAUX
Benjamin Colaux, born in 1981, graduated from the Institut des Arts de
Diffusion, IAD, Belgium. Today he directs and edits for several documentary
film production companies. He’s also a photographer who regularly exhibits
his visual work. The Age of Death is his first feature-length film.
CHRISTOPHER YATES
Christopher Yates, born in 1978, studied at the Institut des Arts de Diffusion,
IAD, Belgium. He works as a director and editor for several projects.
Principally operating in documentaries, he directed his first feature-length
film in 2009: Not Here, a road movie about the Belgian rock band Girls in
Hawaii. The film has screened in cinemas around Belgium and Paris. He was
also the subject of several broadcasts, notably on Be TV (canal+ Belgium)
and PLUG RTL. The Age of Death is his second feature-length film.
PLAYTIME FILMS
Playtime Films is a production company created in 2007 by three directorproducers:
Julien Bechara, Matthieu Frances and Gille-Ivan Frankignoul.
Isabel de la Serna joined them in 2010. Since its creation, Playtime manages
the production, directing and post-production of unique cinematographic
works both in fiction or documentary field.
The development of documentary and fiction projects is led by Isabel de la
Serna and Matthieu Frances.
Playtime focuses on projects that are committed to strong social and
political values, proposed by directors with a determined, creative and
aesthetic vision. Since 2007, Playtime has produced nearly a dozen films
(documentary, fiction and programs for Belgian and French broadcasters).