A bittersweet story of love, loss and legacy. In Kochi’s sea-facing salt marshes, aging farmer Vincent is the keeper of a rare seed for the next generation. When a rising sea conspires to damage his crops, causing his family to drift away, an unexpected tragedy causes the tides to turn.
SYNOPSIS
Ageing farmer Vincent and his wife Vincy are the last Pokkali rice farmers living in the idyllic salt-marshes of Kochi, a landscape that's both stunningly visceral and treacherously hostile. Just days before harvest, Vincent is in crisis - thousands of birds descend on his field, stripping it bare. It’s the second year in a row that this has happened. But this time, the loss cuts deeper. He fears he’s lost his rare Pokkali seeds, a salt-tolerant rice passed down through generations. If true, it means the end of a way of life. The rising sea causes uncertainty testing Vincent’s years of inherited knowledge, as the couple also struggles to keep pace with a world that won’t slow down. Their son, sensing insecurity in generational farming, encourages his own son to leave the village for a different kind of life. As their world crumbles, the couple struggle to hold on. And then, the unthinkable happens, Vincy falls ill and passes away. Her absence floods Vincent’s home and heart. Alone, grieving, and with his world in chaos, Vincent faces a hazy future. But hope returns when his son reluctantly steps forward - but can Vincent's legacy survive what’s coming?
Director Statement
Being from Kochi on India’s south-west coast, over the years I’ve seen its coastline shift. Living at the edge of a rising Indian Ocean, millions of coastal families here feel the impact of climate-driven flooding, cyclones, and tidal erosion, while Kochi itself stares at a real threat of submergence, some say by 2040! For long climate change has been discussed from an urban lens, when the city heats up homes turn on ACs, if there’s persistent rain, we work from home. But to understand the real impact of climate change one must look at it from the point of view of livelihoods. After the floods of 2018 tore through Kerala, I went looking for answers. I began asking what we might be forgetting? What knowledge is embedded in culture, in traditional food systems, that modern climate science could be overlooking? This led me to Pokkali, a salt-resistant paddy, grown in the salt-marshes here. In the 1980s, we had over 25,000 hectares of Pokkali fields, these acted as a natural buffer against the sea. Today, less than 1,000 hectares remain. Losing Pokkali wetlands have led to tidal flooding and mass climate migrations. I realise that even though Pokkali is zero input and climate ready crop, it is collapsing because it cannot be mechanised or made profitable at scale. There are labour issues, unpredictable weather and migrations. This is where I saw my story, climate change not as a disaster headline but in the decisions a family makes in order to survive.
Supporter Statement
"Confluence Media is committed to amplifying stories that are on the margins or suppressed by various forms of censorship. Before The Feast, with its powerful multi-layered messaging, from climate change to migration, was one such film that resonated with us instantly.
It is not just an elderly couple’s determination to preserve a rare variety of rice, but a tribute to their younger days of harmonious existence with nature. The film is also a poignant reminder of migration, loss, and hope.
This is a story that must be told. Confluence Media exists for such stories."
ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)
Director/Producer Rajani Mani
Rajani is an Indian filmmaker who blends science and conservation with heartfelt narratives about people and nature. Her latest documentary, Colonies In Conflict, premiered at Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam ‘22, winning the Best Independent Production award. It also received the Southern Lights Award At Silbersalz Science & Media Festival, Jury Award for Natural History at Nature In Focus Film Festival. The film was also a Finalist at the Jackson Wild Media Awards ‘22. Rajani’s award-winning films, In God’s Own Country and Miles To Go, highlight industrial contamination and its impact on human health. Her films have featured on platforms such as Al Jazeera, Doordarshan (India's Public Service Broadcaster), and ARTE France. She is the founder of Elephant Corridor Films a south-India based media agency dedicated to covering underreported green stories. Rajani is a Bitchitra Collective Fellow, and Earthbound/100 impact fellow.
RELATED LINKS
PROMOTE THIS PROJECT
Put a donation widget on your site. Click here for code.
ABOUT YOUR DONATION
Women Make Movies (WMM), Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit media arts organization registered with the New York Charities Bureau of New York State and accepts charitable donations on behalf of this project. Your donation will be spent by the filmmaker(s) toward the production and completion of this media project. No services or goods are provided by Women Make Movies, the filmmaker(s) or anyone else associated with this project in exchange for your charitable donation.
Your contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law, and a confirmation of your donation will be sent via email. WMM will send you an acknowledgement letter in the mail to the address listed for tax purposes.
