Farming the Revolution

Directed by Nishtha Jain
India
2024
100 mins

Synopsis

This immersive documentary captures a mass movement in vivid close-up, as 12 million farmers challenge the Indian government, forcing it to retract its unjust farm laws.

For 13 months between 2020-21, 12 million farmers in Punjab, in the north of India, took to the streets protesting the government’s unjust farm laws. They occupied the outskirts of the capital city of Delhi, setting up a tent-city that only expanded over the protest’s duration. In Farming the Revolution, Nishtha Jain applies a microscope to this exceptional moment in Indian history. Characters slip in and out of this quietly compelling film as the farmers and their families endure the brutal summer and cold winter, and come together to advocate for justice as though it was the most natural thing to do. Ultimately gesturing towards hope, this monumental achievement took out the top prize at Hot Docs 2024.

Limited seats are available for patrons requiring access for wheelchairs, low vision and hearing loop. Please contact our ticketing team directly on 1300 733 733 or tickets@sff.org.au to complete your booking.

Remarkable in its audio-visual inquiry into protest as a cultural movement, and in its excavation of the emotional highs and lows involved in making lasting change.
Siddhant Adlakha, Variety

Special Guests

Nishtha Jain
Director, Screenwriter

Nishtha Jain is an Indian film director and producer best known for her documentaries Gulabi Gang (2012), The Golden Thread (2022), and Lakshmi and Me (2007). Her eleventh and most recent film, Farming the Revolution (2024), won the Best International Documentary Prize at Hot Docs.

Tickets

Thu 5 June 2025, 3:15pm
State Theatre
WheelchairSubtitledAssisted Listening
Sat 7 June 2025, 3:30pm
Event Cinemas George Street - Cinema 9
WheelchairSubtitledAssisted Listening
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Sydney Film Festival acknowledges Australia’s First Nations People as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land, and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose Country SFF is based.

We honour the storytelling and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.

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