Alimenterre Festival

In La Rochelle, the 18th edition of the festival, coordinated by Collectif Actions Solidaires, will be launched on October 17 with the film "Tu Nourriras le Monde" (You Will Feed the World), in the presence of co-director Floris Schruijer.

For each film, 17 actors (associations, companies, market gardeners, high schools and local authorities) propose debates on the challenges facing agriculture today, solutions for feeding the planet, and give a voice to those who feed us.

It's a great way to get informed, ask questions and exchange ideas with the people involved, to better understand what's at stake on our plates!

For its 2024 edition, the Festival, supported by hundreds of committed players across France and in more than a dozen countries, will present nine hard-hitting films that spark debate and reflection on our food systems and their global interdependence.

The ALIMENTERRE festival will open up new debates in 2024 on :
- Agricultural and food systems: How resilient are our food systems in the face of climate change? What kind of agricultural model do we want for tomorrow? Is livestock farming the solution for preserving the diversity of ecosystems?

- Food democracy: What would be a "just transformation" of territories? How can we set up a real food democracy process in a given region?

- Production models: Who controls seeds? Who benefits from the modernization of agriculture?

- Managing the commons: What are the environmental, ecological and social consequences of privatizing natural resources? How can we guarantee access to water for present and future generations? How can we protect the commons from market forces and competition?

- Year of the Sea: Where does the fish on my plate come from? How does aquaculture, which is supposed to "feed the world", jeopardize the food security of certain populations? What political responsibility do governments bear for the plundering of fish stocks?

- Can art be a tool for change?

On the program:
- Jusqu'à la fin du monde (Until the end of the world)

Salmon, trout, sea bream, sea bass, but also the environment, food security, colonization, land and water grabbing. Until the end of the world is a journey across three continents, following a journalistic investigation of the fish farming industry. Aquaculture is the world's fastest-growing food industry, and promises to be a sustainable solution to feeding a growing world population that could reach 9.7 billion by 2050. However, the film exposes a different reality: local communities in various regions are fighting against the expansion of fish farms, accused of polluting crystal-clear waters, monopolizing natural resources and even fostering hunger and food insecurity.

A film directed by Francesco De Augustinis/ 2024/ One Earth Doc / 58' / English with French subtitles

- The boxer's theory

The excesses of the climate are hitting the farming world harder and harder. In 2022, a drought in the Drôme valley caused a real shock. Nathanaël Coste, a geographer by training, investigates organic and conventional farmers for whom the time for adaptation has already begun. On the ground, approaches differ, whether based on technology, water storage, soil management or agroecology. At a time when half of all farms will be changing hands within the next ten years, the film La théorie du boxeur (The Boxer's Theory) takes a no-holds-barred look at farmers and researchers to rethink the way we produce and build food resilience in a given region.

A film directed by Nathanaël Coste / 2024 / Kamea Meah Films/ 98' / French

- The ills of our food

Multinationals are responsible for numerous human rights and environmental abuses, often with impunity. Pencils in hand, Blanche Sabbah (comic strip author, feminist activist) and Hippocampe Fou (rapper) bear witness to working conditions in Ecuador, and tell the stories of those fighting for their rights in Les maux de notre alimentation.

A film directed by Clément Lefer, Maud Koenig O'Carroll, Christophe Guérin / 2023 / ADventis coproduction ActionAid /5 x 7'/French, Spanish with French subtitles

- Razzia on the Atlantic

The waters of West Africa are among the world's richest in fish. This should be a blessing for its inhabitants. But the resources are overexploited, and the scramble for African fish has gone global, as Razzia on the Atlantic shows. Competition, not to say war, is fierce. Local artisanal fishermen see fish stocks slipping away from them. The misery into which they are forced is one of the main causes of emigration of young men to Europe. And Europe is one of the parties responsible for this situation: it subsidizes industrial fleets, while doing its utmost to prevent human migration.

A film directed by Nicolas Van Ingen / 2023/ In Focus Prod / 52' / French

- Blue gold, green gold: the tears of a valley

In Chile's Petorca Valley, avocados dominate an arid landscape, replacing traditional crops with intensive monoculture. This water-intensive farming practice is causing severe shortages among rural dwellers. In addition to seeing their land dry up, they sometimes live at the pace of tanker trucks, with a minimal water supply. L'or bleu, l'or vert: les larmes d'une vallée (Blue gold, green gold: the tears of a valley) gives a voice to the peasants, the first victims of these ultra-liberal policies, whose way of life has been completely disrupted. It plunges us into the heart of this valley, which bears witness to Chile's many environmental conflicts, in one of the few countries in the world where water is privatized.

A film directed by Anaïs Mariotti / 2023/ Anaïs Mariotti / 28' / Spanish with French subtitles

- Peasant benevolence

Green algae, greenhouse gases, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, global warming... And so many other evils blamed on livestock farming! Have farm animals become the number 1 enemy of life on Earth? And what if they could be a precious auxiliary in these times of indispensable transition? With Bienveillance paysanne, Oliver Dickinson set out to find out by travelling across France to meet breeders who are committed to virtuous practices.

A film directed by Oliver Dickinson / 2023 / Oliver Dickinson / 45'/ French

- Tomorrow's valley

In the face of climate change, citizens and farmers from different sectors are joining forces to decide on fair changes to the use of their land. The film Demain, la vallée (Tomorrow, the valley) traces the process of participatory democracy that brings together the inhabitants of the same territory and involves them in a reflection on living together.

A film by Jérôme Prudent / 2024 / Esperluette & Cie / 63' / French

- The last seed

This film traces the issues surrounding food and agriculture in Africa in the 20th century, and in particular seed control. What have we lost? And who can show us a better way to produce? Farmers from various African countries and experts testify to the sustainability and adaptability of their agroecological practices, and share their knowledge. Embark on a cinematic odyssey into the heart of the saga of food and modern agriculture in Africa, with The Last Seed.

A film directed by Andréa Gema / 2022 / Jan Urhahn, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung / 77' / English, Jola, Swahili, with French subtitles

- Powder trail

The crisis in the agricultural sector has hit the dairy sector particularly hard. The end of quotas has mechanically led to overproduction, which has had a downward impact on farmgate prices. This is good news for the sector's manufacturers, who are increasingly exporting their surpluses, particularly butter, whose price per tonne has doubled in just a few years. Once the fat has been extracted, what remains is a dry powder that the industry has succeeded in valorizing. For some years now, they have been re-fattening these milk powder residues with palm oil, flooding African countries at low prices. Local producers in West Africa are penalized, and this powder, this "fake milk", further weakens local companies. People, particularly dairy farmers, are fighting to change this deadly system, which is impoverishing producers in Europe and Africa. From Belgium, France, Senegal and Burkina Faso, Traînée de poudre takes us along the road of this destructive globalization.

A film directed by André Chandelle, Patrick Remacle/ 2024 / Clair-obscur productions and RTBF / 52' / French

Find films near you: https://cas17.fr/nos-festivals/festival-alimenterre/