For decades, construction crews have been carving a road through southern Chile. Route 7, the Carretera Austral, is meant to connect the country’s center with its far south, still reachable overland only through Argentina.

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In the 1970s, military dictator Augusto Pinochet made the road a national priority. Up to 10,000 soldiers labored in brutal conditions. Many died. Despite decades of effort, the road remains unfinished. Rainforests, towering mountains, fjords and a vast ice field stand in the way.

Set in Patagonia’s breathtaking wilderness, this documentary follows the stubborn determination to blast a route through a majestic landscape. An audacious construction project becomes a story of humanity’s age-old struggle with nature.​