According to Bitter Seeds, every 30 minutes an India farmer kills themself and the reason it seems is debt.
Micha X Peled's most illuminating documentary goes to the sub-continent to discover an entirely different country to the one which Bollywood presents.
Bitter Seeds reminds me of the American documentary Food Inc in the way that it condemns the giant food corporation Monsanto.
The odd thing is that Monsanto's chief operating officer said that he regretted not taking part in Food Inc because he believed he missed an opportunity to blunt the film's impact and yet here, Monsanto, with the exception of its local representative, is silent.
For the uninitiated, Monsanto is changing the way the world eats. Thanks to US Government-backing, it is flogging genetically modified crops throughout the world and making humongous profits.
But how can it foist its products on Indian farmers who have worked the land for millennia?
Simple. It sells them a story that its more expensive GM seeds will produce far higher yields than the traditional seeds and are more robust against bugs.
Neither has turned out to be true, Thus, farmers who have had to pay big on seeds and pesticides, are suddenly woefully out of pocket.
Those with daughters then find themselves facing the perfect financial storm because this is a society where big dowries are expected and shame befalls those who can't pay up.
The result, believe it or not, is that the farmers commit suicide.
Peled's film is incredibly revealing and it is helped by looking at the issue through the eyes of a young village girl who is an aspiring journalist.
It just so happens that she is also the daughter of a deceased farmer.
There are a myriad of interviews plus some shocking footage taken shortly after farmers have taken their own lives.
They are images which will live long in the memory.
Unfortunately Bitter Seeds has only been screened in Glasgow and Edinburgh for International Women's Day. It deserves a much wider distribution.
Laughs: one
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 8/10
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