Santoalla is a small abandoned Spanish town of scattered families living a tenuous existence. Enter Martin Verfondern and Margo Pool, two Amsterdam citizens who seek to get away from modern life and live off the land they’ve purchased in Santoalla. At first, it seems like a dream come true—the Dutch couple’s organic farm is proceeding along nicely, even to the point where Spanish television took notice. But soon the couple falls into conflict with their only neighbors, longtime community leaders the Rodriquez family, eventually resulting in Verfondern and Poole suing their neighbors over a logging disagreement. But when the court sides with the organic farmers, Martin Verfondern suddenly disappears.
“An engrossingly atmospheric true-crime tale of village strife.” —The Hollywood Reporter
Directors’ Biographies
Andrew Becker, Daniel Mehrer: Daniel Mehrer’s brother, Paul, arrived to work at Martin Verfondern’s farm just hours after he disappeared, and his experience prompted Daniel, along with his colleague Andrew Becker, to make Santoella. They are both Brooklyn-based filmmakers.
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