In celebration of World Environment Day on June 5, EngageMedia curated a playlist of documentaries and short films on how communities across the Asia-Pacific are fighting to preserve and protect their lands against environmental degradation, industrialization, and climate change. These films on Cinemata, a mix of new uploads and works from the archives, take us from Nueva Vizcaya (“Dagami Daytoy”) in the Philippines and Nam Dinh province in Vietnam (“Another Exodus”), to Sawarak in Malaysia (“Melikin”) and Taunggyi in Myanmar (“Plastic Outlive Us”).
The playlist also includes award-winning films, among them “Dagami Daytoy” (winner of the 2020 Gawad Cultural Center of the Philippines Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video), “Anak Pokok” (Films for the Forest, SXSW Community Screening), and “Kaise Jeebo Re!” (winner of the 1997 International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam).
Malaysia: Doa Seorang Nelayan (A Fisherman’s Prayers)
Zakaria Ismail believes it is his divine calling to defend fellow coastal fishermen from a land reclamation project in southern Penang that threatens to bury their fishing grounds under 4,500 acres of reclaimed land. He and other members of his village are labeled B40, referring to the bottom 40 percent of Malaysian households with monthly incomes of RM 3,900 (949 US dollars) and below. In this story about class struggle, tensions between modern and traditional values, and the Machiavellian interventions of political actors, Zakaria turns to his God for wisdom and courage to stand against one of the most ambitious projects being carried out in New Malaysia.
Vietnam: Another Exodus
A fishing village in Vietnam wakes up in the murmur of predawn prayers while the ebb and flow of waves hit the breakers. Fishermen from the older generation quietly recall the good old days, anxiously awaiting what’s coming up next. They know of the exodus every 50 or 60 years, where they’ll have to move away from the shorelines because of climate change. Once prosperous neighborhoods have become poor fishing villages, and fertile fields and fruitful orchards have been destroyed by the rising seawater. “Another Exodus” is a short documentary by Vietnamese filmmaker Le Nguyen.