Documentary ‘La Berma’ wins Jury Prize at Madrid Film Festival

The documentary ‘La Berma’, directed by Agustín Domínguez, has won the Jury Prize at the 35th Madrid Film Festival. The film, which required five years of production, follows the daily life of Yauguiha Mohamed Embarec, a Sahrawi refugee and biology graduate who became the first woman to lead a demining brigade.

The documentary focuses on the reality of the military berm in Western Sahara, an area containing millions of anti-personnel and anti-tank mines. The production involved multiple trips to the Tinduf refugee camps in Algeria to document the work of demining brigades composed of civilian and military personnel operating in territories liberated during the conflict between the Polisario Front and Morocco.

Domínguez expressed that the award provides a significant boost to the film's dissemination and represents a commitment to highlighting the experiences of the Sahrawi people. Following its success in Madrid, the film is expected to continue its circuit through other festivals and eventually reach cinema audiences.