“Healthy Earth”, a documentary tribute to Peruvians who preserve agrobiodiversity

The documentary “Hatun Phaqcha, Healthy Land” by Peruvian director Delia Ackerman, which pays homage to Peruvian peasants and Andean agrobiodiversity, premieres in Spainwith its screening at the Casa de América in Madrid.

The feature film, which took 9 years to film, vindicates the work of peasants and their ancestral knowledge, as well as the nutritional diversity of Peruvian food.

Speaking to EFE, the director emphasized that this piece is not only about “of applause” but also of “take actions”and to show that “The loss of this wealth would be irreversible and tragic, since it is the secret of Peruvian health.”

Ackerman commented that the Andean country has a huge variety of foods, but, at the same time, it suffers from a high level of malnutrition and anemia.

“In the supermarkets of Lima there are four types of potatoes, but in Peru there are 4,000. (…) It is a great irony. Peruvians have a lot of wealth but also high food poverty”he added. According to the Minister of Health of Peru, Rosa Gutiérrez, four out of ten children under the age of three have anemia.

The film highlights the need to generate public policies to promote work in the field. “There is an oversight of the government. No party has cared about the peasants”claimed the Peruvian filmmaker.

Through scenes of daily life, agricultural producers and testimonies from biologists, anthropologists, sociologists, nutritionists and even chefs, the documentary invites us to reflect on eating habits.

During 92 minutes, the film also addresses issues that concern rural producers, such as climate change, mining, and extractive companies.

“We have our backs to reality and to the future of humanity, because some companies are ambitious and want to profit by destroying our future”said the director, who, with her audiovisual pieces, seeks to contribute her “grain of sand” to change the food and climate crisis that Peru is going through.

Ackerman claimed to be “very happy” to be able to premiere his feature film at the Casa de América and told EFE that soon the film will be present at different festivals, such as the Peruvian film exhibition “Filmed in Peru” in New York.

The film premiered in theaters in Peru in February 2022 and since then it has accumulated several awards, such as the Biznaga de Plata at the 26th Malaga International Film Festival (Spain), the Audience Award for Best Film at the Festival of Cinema of Lima 2021 and the award to the Environment in the Toronto Women Film Festival in Canada.

Source: EFE