The Collaborative Crop Research Program (CCRP) of McKnight Foundation will host a Farmer Research Film Festival ''Reimagining Research for Agroecology'' on 11 and 12 October 2021. This festival, and the process that preceded it, reflects an aspiration for a global exchange of ideas between those working at the frontiers of agroecological transitions, the science, the practice and the social movement.

The films on display represent the culmination of a complex 10-month process that sought to put the power of digital storytelling into the hands of agroecology research networks across 10 countries. This process didn’t collect professionally produced submissions — it sought to develop localised capabilities for place-based, digital storytelling.

Curatorially, this festival reflects a belief in the power of user-generated content, with the festival representing a united effort by farmers and others working with them to exchange grassroots innovation and research in agroecology. These are not glossy promotional films, but rather a celebration of the power of low-tech filmmaking skills in the hands of real people telling their own stories from the field: Progressive, authentic and deeply rooted to the contexts in which they were created.