toang

Toang is an intimate portrait of a rice paddy farmer (Edi Sutaryadi) and his family in Indramayu, Indonesia, who were in a precarious situation due to the cycle of indebtment and environmental degradation that the Green Revolution brought to Indonesia.

Director statement

Climate change has posed serious problems to many Indonesian as the country is proven to be very vulnerable to its impact. I am from Indonesia myself, and I have been experiencing and seeing firsthand the impact of climate change in Indonesia. Many people in Indonesia are very dependent on their natural resources and environment. The slightest disturbance in nature might create dire consequences. Food security is one of the most affected by climate change as climate change continues to interrupt agricultural practices, which could endanger national stability. Therefore, it is some sort of a moral obligation for me to create a film about climate change and its impact on the farmers in Indonesia. I realize that I have the privilege to study abroad which not many Indonesian are able to do. I have to translate this privilege into something that can be helpful for the people in Indonesia and other places as well that are most vulnerable to climate change. Through this research, I hope, I could express my field or filming experience into a compelling message for others and also provide ethnographic knowledge relating to climate change that might be useful for future research or studies in this field.