Farming the Revolution

In 2020, the year Covid struck, the population of the Indian region of Punjab rose up en masse against new farming laws that would impact the livelihoods of millions of farmers and farm laborers. Almost half a million people surrounded India’s capital Delhi for more than a year.

This impressive operation involved farmers occupying the highways and the emergence of a massive tent city behind the barricades, where farmers turned their tractor-trailers into makeshift homes and set up stages, community kitchens and libraries. It’s inspiring to see how the protesters manage to keep on going, despite being dismissed by the mainstream media as separatists and troublemakers.

Scenes from the demonstrations, with poetically tinged speeches and overtly political songs, alternate with visits to villages and farms, capturing the daily lives of the farmers and laborers. Farming the Revolution follows this huge assemblage over the course of two harvests. Battling harsh weather conditions, they finally prevail.