MOVING IMAGES
Living voices
KANCHI KOHLI
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The films by the women farmers of the Community Media Trust address issues of governance. But are there any takers?
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Photo: M. Yesu
Hard-hitting: The films are backed by farmer-driven research.
“Move away from the frame,” signalled Laxmamma, as she angled her hand at me from behind the camera. I was obviously in the way of what she conceived to be a good shot. A bit offended and totally surprised, I did. The incident has not left me since. It was not something I had witnessed, lived or experienced before. A “backward” farmer, a woman, easily blending with a conventional rural milieu, asserting her space, in such a unique way!
Over the next eight years, I’ve watched not just one but several women of the Community Media Trust (CMT) of the Deccan Development Society (DDS) make their films. I’ve admired their drive, questioned whether they need to film each of our meetings, and wondered whether they would be able to handle all the complex technology independently. But have finally been left inspired.
Vision and drive
This extremely determined bunch of farmer women have a vision and drive to communicate the deep realities of our times. Twenty of them perfecting the technique to handle both video and radio is a rare sight.
The films of the CMT are not limited to showcasing the exemplary effort of the women filmmakers of the CMT, but also aim to communicate their ideology. The images aim to send a message, within which are embedded the reasons for the recent agricultural crisis with real and replicable solutions. They raise issues that trace fundamentals of farmer’s control over the seeds and link it to how policies and consumer demands come in the way of this sovereignty.
What makes these films different is also process of action research that the women led and were an integral part of. A domain, which was otherwise that of experts, with them being mere subjects of study!
Today the wide range of the work of the CMT has culminated in a fascinating “a multimedia publication” that takes one through the journey of the CMT in their interaction with their fellow villagers, filming the issues that they live with and communicating it to the rest of the world. The publication titled, “Affirming Life an Diversity Rural Images and voices on Food Sovereignty in South India”, is a collection of 12 video films made by the peasant women filmmakers. Their CMT comprises 20 women, 17 of whom are working with digital video and three with radio. Along with them in this publication are P.V. Satheesh and Michel Pimbert, who work with DDS and International Institute of Environment and Development (IIED), United Kindgom.
Distribution systems
One of the first films in the compilation deals with the Alternative Public Distribution (APDS), in which the women showcase their vision of a PDS system that contrasts with the conventional model practised today.
Forgotten and marginalised crops like millets are in the core of this model, which determines access to grains based on a family’s assets and social strata. Based on the principles of local production, local distribution and local consumption, it presents clear possibilities if one wants to seek them.
Another film highlights how the women sangams (groups) attempt to take their “crops of truth” to urban consumer markets. No farmer can sustain cultivating nutritious crops on their fields, if there is no demand in the markets. The journey to revive tough soils and make them biodiverse farmlands and get the products to nearby towns by women’s groups is another production.
In the final section are three hard-hitting films backed by farmer-driven research. They aim at looking at the disastrous impact of Bt Cotton in Andhra Pradesh and also in other countries.
The CMT carried out primary research before undertaking the filming, with the help of socially sensitive scientists. When it is a farmer behind the camera taking the testimony of a fellow farmer about crop failure and false hopes, it presents a different kind of conversation. Undoubtedly, the questions are real and so are the facts.
Lessons
Nothing stops those in the corridors of power to draw lessons and channelise opportunities into development that it is inclusive and enabling. Communication today is not devoid of resources, but of the living voices and stories of those unheard.
The films find ground in vision that demand recognition and replication, and present a challenge to address issues of governance through their ideological framework. Any takers?
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