Patrimonio

Shot between 2015-18, filmmakers Lisa F. Jackson and Sarah Teale’s documentary Patrimonio follows the protracted and agonizing but always courageous fight by the fishermen of Todos Santos—a small community in Baja California Sur, Mexico—to retain their inherited beachfront in the face of a massive resort and housing development. The latter, a project by a deep-pocketed U.S. firm in partnership with an alleged Mexican crime family, lawlessly encroaches on the fishing families’ land and refuses to provide legal documents to these hardscrabble workers and their brave volunteer attorney, John Moreno. As the conflict drags on, and the development continues to steal beachfront and puts a stranglehold on scarce community resources (particularly fresh water), the fishing town forms blockades to stop construction until their demands for legal transparency are met. The developers, in turn, use bribery of officials, costly legal lawsuits, threats and intimidation, and gamesmanship intended to wear down Moreno and fishing leaders to try to make the resistance go away. A suspenseful and compelling David vs. Goliath story, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)