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.