Farmers in My An Commune, Thu Thua District in the southern province of Long An are producing short video clips about their life and daily work.
Four farmers are joining the one-week filming project YouFarm – Canh Dong Que Toi (YouFarm – My Homeland's Field), conducted by outstanding representatives of Viet Nam's short and independent movies, including Trinh Dinh Le Minh, Ta Nguyen Hiep, and Nguyen Huu Tuan.
"We want to help the farmers share their own stories with the audience. No one can create such truthful and vivid clips but the ‘insiders'," said director Tuan, who achieved fame with the independent movie Danh Cho Thang 6 (Dedicating to June).
Director Hiep was excited to explore the life of local farmers through cinematography.
The three young directors follow the farmers, who are unfamiliar with modern filming equipment, from their house to the rice field, from cattle cage to the fishing pond, to help them tell their stories through the clips. The directors even live with the farmers and their families.
Farmer Ba Trong makes a video about the well-organised rice trade in his village, farmer Muoi Thanh presents himself as a working farmer in his self-created clip. He organises regular meetings for his villagers, where they exchange farming experiences and obtain up-to-date agricultural information.
Farmer Bay Uoc and his wife talks about changes to the soil's quality over the last 40 years since they settled in My An. Despite unexpected results caused by climate change, the couple strive to improve rice planting techniques and soil repair to increase quality and yield.
The reticent farmer Muoi Nen focuses on his ploughing work for the up-coming crop.
"I have no idea how to make a video. Honestly, it is much more difficult than doing farming work. All of us used to think it [farming work] is nothing interesting but the young directors have shown us how to spice it up. That is really great," said farmer Muoi Thanh.
The filming will be finished tomorrow.
The two best clips will be chosen to enter YouFarm — an international video competition for farmers, aiming to help improve public understanding of the farmers' role in our society while increasing awareness of agricultural topics such as food safety and sustainable farming.
The YouFarm's website says farmers will soon be feeding 9 billion people around the world – often farming under tough conditions.
"It's about time the world learned about your hard work and unwavering dedication. And YouFarm is the perfect place, offering family farmers an opportunity to show the true, real face of family farms," it says.
The competition, initiated by Bayer CropScience, will announce the winner in August. The winner will be granted the "Farmers around the Continent" tour, travelling through Asia and visiting farms and other great sites, together with a companion. The prize will cover flights, visas, transfer services, and accommodation.
