The true story of two young Bolivian miners makes for an incredible documentary in The Devil’s Miner, the feature by filmmakers Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani. Fourteen-year-old Basilio and 12-year-old Bernardino work deep within the Cerro Rico silver mines in terrible and dangerous conditions. What the filmmakers show us is the bizarre religious convictions of the miners in this devoutly Catholic country. As the miners enter the mine, they sever all ties with God and instead begin to worship the devil, as they believe that he decides the fate of each miner. In the mine there are statues of the devil “Tio,” and each day the miners make offerings to these statues in order to stave off death or injury.

The filmmakers follow Basilio to school, where he is ostracized because he still works in the mine. Their father deceased, the boys are forced to work there to support their family. The Devil’s Miner is a sad but fascinating film; like great activist docs, the film has brought international attention to the plight of its subjects. —Matthew Hays