A newsletter brought out by like minded people - writers, artists, and activists
26/02/2025
Collaborative spirit of farmers protest continues. invited us to assist in programming the films along with her ‘The Village on the Highway’ exhibition at
Food security remains the overlooked yet essential challenge in a world undergoing rapid changes in ecological and technological spheres. Agrarian communities globally have urged policymakers to focus on the land and its workers, not the sky and skyscrapers. The farmers’ protest of 2020-21 brought this concern to the forefront in India.
Artists and filmmakers have long engaged with issues related to land and growers—from the Soviet cinema classic Earth, set in the wheat fields of Ukraine, to the 2020 feature Adh Chanani Raat, set in the sugarcane and paddy farmlands of Punjab; from Haryanvi vegetable growers to Dalit landless labourers; from a Dutch man fighting for his way of life in the face of the corporate onslaught to Punjabi farmers liberating their farmland from a chemical factory’s pollution. These films highlight the stories of our food growers and their battles for survival and dignity.
“Like art, the Struggle can also bring humans closer to each other. This is the responsibility and the relationship between art and political struggle. In the midst of a struggle, a human says – you and I have the same fight and you and I have the same life. Together, we can find a solution. The artist has to decide if he is going to stand with those who take away the rights or those who take what is rightfully theirs.“ - in Trolley Times, edition 1.
