Farming the Revolution

I november 2020 reiste den unge bonden Gurbaz Sangha 400 kilometer på traktor fra sitt hjemsted i Punjab til hovedstaden Delhi for å protestere mot statsminister Modis svært omdiskuterte landbrukslover. Da covid-19-pandemien herjet på sitt verste, ble han supplert av over en halv million bønder, på uavhengig av bakgrunn og kaste. Filmen viser med all tydelighet Modis manglende respekt for demokratiet, men er også et gripende innblikk i hvordan samhold kan utfordre et mektig og urettferdig byråkrati.

«Nishtha Jain’s absorbing documentary Farming the Revolution charts the march on Delhi, but also takes time to detail the experiences of the farmers, and outlines the politics and reaction to the march.»

– Mark Adams, Doc Europe –

Nishtha Jain er en av Indias ledende dokumentarfilmskapere. Hun står bak kritikerroste filmer som Lakshmi and Me (2007), Gulabi Gang (2012) og The Golden Thread (2022). Hennes nyeste film, Farming the Revolution, vant prisen for beste internasjonale dokumentar på Hot Docs i 2024.

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The winner of this year's best international documentary at the world's most renowned documentary festival, Hot Docs, is a harrowing film about a democracy on its knees, but also about those who are trying to make a difference.

In November 2020, young farmer Gurbaz Sangha traveled 400 kilometers by tractor from his home in Punjab to the capital city of Delhi to protest against Prime Minister Modi's highly controversial agricultural laws. At the height of the Covid pandemic, he was joined by more than half a million farmers across all backgrounds, castes and geographies. The film clearly shows Modi's lack of respect for democracy, but it's also a poignant insight into how individuals standing together can make a difference when facing a powerful and unjust bureaucracy.

«Nishtha Jain’s absorbing documentary Farming the Revolution charts the march on Delhi, but also takes time to detail the experiences of the farmers, and outlines the politics and reaction to the march.»

– Mark Adams, Doc Europe –

Nishtha Jain is one of India’s leading documentary filmmakers. She is the director of critically acclaimed films such as Lakshmi and Me (2007), Gulabi Gang (2012), and The Golden Thread (2022). Her latest documentary, Farming the Revolution, won the award for Best International Documentary at Hot Docs in 2024.