April 22, 2022

In celebration of Earth Day, Cinemata has curated a selection of documentaries and short films featuring stories of communities fighting to protect their lands from environmental plunder and climate change.

 

CLIMATE CHANGE

‘Another Exodus’

As a fishing village in Vietnam wakes up to the sound of predawn prayers and the ebb and flow of the waves, fishermen from the older generations quietly recall the good old days. They know of the exodus every 50 or 60 years, where they will have to move away from the shoreline due to climate change.

Director: Le Nguyen

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‘Stuck in Mud’

The municipality of Rodriguez in Rizal, northeast of Manila, has suffered numerous flash floods over the past decade. At the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, a typhoon submerged a relocation site for Manila’s urban poor, leaving residents to wade through the sludge and mud to salvage what remains of their homes.

Producer: AlterMidya Network

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‘Without’

Every summer, farmers in Myanmar’s Dala township face water shortages that endanger their lives and put their crops and livestock at risk. Produced in 2016, this advocacy film was used to lobby the Myanmar central government to increase the water supply in regions affected by drought.

Producer: Picture People

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ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES IN INDIGENOUS LANDS

‘The Secret Deal to Destroy Paradise’

The Auyu tribe in Boven Digoel, West Papua is living on the precipice of a huge environmental catastrophe threatening the rainforests of Indonesia. The Tanah Merah project seeks to generate billions of dollars – at the cost of logging untouched rainforests that are home to indigenous tribes and a treasure trove of biodiversity.

Producer: The Gecko Project

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‘Indigenous People in Kalimantan and Papua Fight Against Palm Oil Plantations’

Local farmers and indigenous people in Kalimantan (Borneo) and Papua in Indonesia are mounting a relentless effort against a big palm oil plantation to protect their forests and livelihood.

Video by: Indonesia Nature Film Society

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‘Lives of the Forest’

Indigenous activists from across the Asia-Pacific explore the question: how would the United Nations’ Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation program impact indigenous resources and culture? Created in 2017 during a participatory video facilitator training in the Philippines, Lives of the Forest was a collaborative production by representatives of 15 distinct indigenous communities from eight countries.

Video from: InsightShare

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MINING

‘Fields of Mine’

When the Tungkum Limited mining company began digging in Thailand, villagers started to experience health problems. After years of organising and petitioning for health tests, the farmers of Na Nong Bong village have won a small victory in the battle against the gold mine in their backyard.

Video from: Aceh Documentary

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‘Dagami Daytoy’ (This is Our Land)

Produced in 2020, the film chronicles how local indigenous communities in Nueva Vizcaya, northern Philippines, are fighting against years of environmental degradation by calling for the closure of OceanaGold, one of the largest producers of gold and copper in the world.

Director: Noni Abao

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‘Memupuk Bencana’ (Cultivating Disaster)

In Aceh Selatan, Indonesia, traditional gold miners face lethal health consequences from the use of mercury to extract gold – all to earn a living.

Video from: Aceh Documentary

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‘Lautan Bara’ (The Sea of Coal)

With coal companies polluting their seas, Indonesian fishermen struggle to protect their main source of livelihood.

Video from: Aceh Documentary

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More Videos on Cinemata

Nagaland Video Collective

InsightShare

Saving Freedom Island

Marc Ocampo

Son of the Sago Palms

Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific

Belantara Leuser Bukan Tanah Haram

(Leuser, Not a Forbidden Land)

Aceh Documentary