Set in the rugged Portuguese countryside, this striking drama follows the residents of Covas do Barroso, a small village confronted with the arrival of a massive lithium mining project. At first, promises of jobs and prosperity seem to offer hope for renewal, but soon the true cost of “progress” becomes impossible to ignore. Families are torn between the lure of opportunity and the threat of losing their land, their traditions, and their way of life. Selected for the prestigious Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes 2024, Savanna and the Mountain blends fiction and documentary with urgency and poignancy, offering a stirring reflection on resistance, solidarity, and the price of modernity.