New Swedish documentary about land investments in Ethiopia
Interest in international investments in developing countries has attracted media interest and international concern. Complex and controversial economic, political, institutional, legal and ethical issues are raised in relation to food security, poverty reduction, rural development, technology and access to land and water. On the other hand, lack of investment in agriculture over decades hampers productivity and stagnant agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa.
Hoping for export revenues, Ethiopia’s government leases millions of hectares of farmland to foreign investors. But the dream of prosperity has a dark side where the foreign investors and development banks play a questionable role.
Dead Donkeys Fear No Hyena is a documentary focusing on land investments and its impact on local people’s lives. Pursuing the truth, you will meet investors, development bureaucrats, journalists, environmentalists and farmers.
To find out where the documentary is being shown in Sweden see here.
The kickstarter campaign
Dead Donkeys Fear No Hyenas is a feature-length documentary about land investments and faulted development aid. Over the past 6 years of working on this film, one of the main characters had to flee the country, another was detained and now faces lifetime imprisonment, the foreign farm that was documented has been attacked by rebels, killing foreign employees, and a vicious circle of violence broke out in Gambela, where much of Dead Donkeys Fear No Hyenas was filmed. Throughout this process, WG Films has been entrusted with important witness statements from smallholders farmers evicted from their land who have been forced to flee Gambela for Kenya and South Sudan. They have put their safety and lives in danger, in order to tell WG Films their stories. Now, the film company is finally ready to share their stories with the world.
Find out more about their kickstarter campaign on this link.