Ciclovida: Lifecycle pedals alongside a group of subsistence farmers from Brazil who bicycle over 6,000 miles across the South American continent in search of natural seeds.
This feature-length documentary is made up of moving stories from landless peasants, indigenous communities, and small farmers that expose the devastating effects of industrial agriculture destined for agrofuels.
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More about the film:
With practically no money and no support crew, the protagonists rely entirely on their resourcefulness and the solidarity of people they meet along the way. They carry with them only the simplest of necessities, their radical ideas and philosophy, collected heirloom seeds, and a video camera. The main characters, Inacio and Ivania, identify as farmers, poets, musicians, and activists for ecological and social justice. They seek to gather and disseminate thousands of seeds, a wealth of knowledge, and contribute to an invaluable network amongst small agricultural communities of Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina, all without the use of oil or biofuels. This film also explores their role as parents who struggle with the distance, both physical and figurative, from their children, who share their ideals but remain at their home and do not accompany them on the journey.
This stirring narrative captivates its audience , while it unflinchingly conveys the disturbing ecological, economic, and social impacts of large agribusiness practices. It portrays an alternative to the biofuel monocultures that threaten all small farmers, as the triumphant protagonists create significant and sustainable change using what sparse resources they have.
