The Devil's Miner is a gritty portrait of two brothers, 14-year-old Basilio and 12-year-old Bernardino, who on account of their abject poverty are compelled to work deep inside the ancient silver mines of Cerro Rico, Bolivia. The boys’ meager earnings are saved for school fees. As with tens of millions of working children in other countries, on a daily basis Basilio and Bernardino are exposed to threats to their health and well-being, uncaring and brutal adults, prejudice and discrimination. Their survival in circumstances that most of us would find unlivable is testimony to their courage and tenacity.

The mining sector in many countries around the world (including Nepal) employs children who are agile and can work in confined spaces underground, who are fearless, and whose families won’t need to be compensated by mine owners in the case of serious injury or death. Minimum age legislation, and regulations regarding health and safety, are routinely ignored by their employers. Recent studies have shown that sexual abuse among the boys and men employed in the mining sector is endemic. The Devil’s Miner, devoid of any element of sentimentality, brings the story of children digging deep beneath the earth to light in manner that both informs and entertains.