Pilar Mata Dupont and Erika Roux: Scenes from The Polder Western

“I used to be like everyone else, scared about what will become of us. But one day, as I was strolling from town to town, all upset, no room for hope, feeling betrayed by a world that has given up on us, I had to stop at the beach to get some fresh sea air. I had the urge to take my revolver out, to take it all out, you know… I started to shoot like a maniac at the sea.”

Erika Roux and Pilar Mata Dupont share an interest in the cinematic tropes of the Western genre, within which they have found a playful and relevant language to reflect on different political perspectives and forms of relating to territory, nature, and community. ‘Scenes from The Polder Western’ — a speculative screenplay —  is an experiment in narrative and absurdism allowing them to research and investigate personal concerns arising from living in an environmentally vulnerable country facing complex issues, such as climate change and its subsequent (mis)management.