Farmers' story hits global stage

Bhubaneswar: An English documentary A Zero to Hero Collaborative Approach by Biswanath Rath is getting acclaimed at a number of international film festivals.

The film recently won the "Audience Award" in the AgriCulture Film Festival-2017 in Rome. The film represented India at the festival.

The documentary tells an inspirational story of a unique public-private- academia-community partnership which led to the development of the farmers in Nabarangpur district, known for its poverty.

The film was released in 2016 as a tribute to the farmers. It was officially selected in seven international film festivals within a year of its release.

The film represented India in all the international festivals.

Rath, who hails from Jeypore, said: "The project was in line with our vision and commitment to make documentaries based on Indian cultures, traditions and inspirational stories. I know the social and economic conditions of farmers prevailing in this part of the world to a good extent. While doing research on the positive developments in the Kalahandi Balangir Koraput (KBK) region, I came across this unique story of empowerment in Nandahandi Block at Nabarangpur district modeled on the public-private- academia-community partnership. The story was so inspiring that we decided to make it into a documentary."