MERCURY

“We doin all this hard work, and just due to the silver, we’ll be punished.”

- name withheld

Supported by The Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Journalism Fund & IUCN Netherlands

Now available on VICE News

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Mercury is crucial to small-scale gold mining in South America but increasing scrutiny of its health and environmental impact in the Amazon is leading to its prohibition throughout the continent. This investigation delves into the underworld of mercury, following its path from Guyana to neighboring Suriname, exploring the health and environmental consequences, and what the prohibition of mercury would mean for the livelihoods of miners and communities across the Amazon.

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MERCURY is a film by Tom Laffay, produced by InfoAmazonia, a data journalism initiative that produces stories across the entire Amazon. The full investigation called Mercury - Chasing the Quicksilver led by Bram Ebus was conducted in four countries for over one year in partnership with journalists from Armando.Info in Venezuela and Fantástico (TV Globo) in Brazil. The entire production was supported by the Rainforest Journalism Fund of the Pulitzer Center and "IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) National Committee of the Netherlands (IUCN NL). Parts of our investigation are published by Knack (Belgium), Stabroek News (Guyana), De Ware Tijd and UnitedNews.sr (Suriname), in addition to stories by our partners in Brazil and Venezuela.

Full investigation here: https://mercurio.infoamazonia.org/en/

Run time / 30:00

Language / English / Dutch / Saran Tongo

Subtitles / English

DIRECTOR  &  CINEMATOGRAPHER :   TOM LAFFAY

LEAD INVESTIGATOR :  BRAM EBUS

EDITOR :  J.C. VAN ’T KRUIS

NARRATION : ABEL HARRIS

PRODUCER: GUSTAVO FALEIROS

INVESTIGATION TEAM

/ GAULBERT SUTHERLAND

/ WILFRED LEEUWIN

/ BRAM EBUS

/ TOM LAFFAY

MOTION DESIGN  /  SERGIO CASTRO 

SOUND DESIGN  /  J.C. VAN ’T KRUIS 

CREATIVE CONSULTANT /  EMILY WRIGHT 

SECOND EDITOR  /  TOM LAFFAY

PRODUCED BY  /  IUCN NL & INFOAMAZONIA

WITH SUPPORT FROM  /  THE PULITZER CENTER & IUCN NETHERLANDS