By Christopher Neglia
The IFAD-sponsored tve biomovies competition finished at the
end of 2016 and the winners have been announced. In the Family Farming
category, the winning entry is 28 year old Hongwei from China.
Hongwei’s short documentary profiles the vulnerabilities and
difficulties of female farmers coping with natural disasters brought on by
climate change. The film was shot in Luoci County, Yunnan Province. This
village in the Southwest of China is heavily dependent on agriculture, where
small family-owned farms make up the mainstay of the rural economy.
Through field trips and interviews with local farmers, Hongwei
shed light on the physical, and mental fights women go through to provide for
their families. She also notes that mining and upstream industrial activities
are impacting the community’s drinking water, and decreasing crop yields.
After releasing a
short-list, the tve biomovies jurors invited finalists to submit a one-minute
film based on their proposals. Hongwei came out on top with more than 5,000
views on Youtube. IFAD partnered with the 2016 tve biomovies competition, which
encourages young people from the developing world to produce short films that
show their perspectives on issues such as international development and climate
change. You can watch Hongwei’s winning documentary below.