The Resilient

UÅR / The Resilient

The Resilient follows the drought-stricken Norwegian farmer Einar as he is searching for ways to continue the family legacy of dairy farming. After the most difficult season of his career, he travels to Malawi in East Africa to learn from farmers who have been living with the impacts of climate change for more than a decade.

Watch
Rent or buy the film through Vimeo on Demand. Subtitles are available in German, French, Norwegian and English.

Previously broadcasted on NRK.

Credits
Director: Julie Lunde Lillesæter
Producer: Julie Lunde Lillesæter & Julia Dahr
Idea: Julia Dahr
Cinematographer: Aurora Hannisdal
Editor: Mathias Askeland
Assistant producer & Researcher: Aurora Hannisdal
Sound design: Karoline Fjugstad Wendelborg
Distribution coordinator: Johanne Kristensen Sandvik

Made possible with support from Norad, Fritt Ord, Utviklingsfondet & Økologisk Norge. Thanks to Laurence Wuillemin and Felix Eder for supporting the film by providing a German translation.

Awards
Best Docu Earth Short (Andaras Traveling Film Festival, 2022)

"For the clarity of the message, for the ability to compare distant yet increasingly similar realities which face drought and extreme weather phenomena, for the exposure of a climate change that puts even safe areas at risk." - Jury statement

Festivals
Agrofilm, 2019, Slovakia
Bergen International Film Festival, 2019, Norway (Educational Programme)
The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital, 2020, US
Let's Talk About Water Film Festival, 2020
Kortfilmfestivalen, 2020, Norway
Festival Alimenterre, 2020, Belgium
Bogotá Short Film Festival, 2020, Colombia
Annual Aarhus Film Festival, 2020, Denmark
Arctic Film Festival, 2021, Norway
Festival Alimenterre, 2021, France
Arcadia Film Festival, 2021, France
CINÉMAPLANÈTE International Film Festival, 2021, France
Andaras Traveling Film Festival, 2022, Italy

Impact
With this film, we wanted to foster debate about the links between climate change and food production and to increase climate awareness. In Norway, as in many other countries, farmers are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change.  At the same time, rural communities in Norway are far less engaged in climate issues than urban communities. For the campaign, we partnered with The Development Fund and The Norwegian Farmer's Association on a community screening campaign to reach rural audiences and farmers across Norway. In 2019, there were a total of 38 such screenings in 9 out of 11 Norwegian districts, and even more screenings are planned in 2020.

The campaign also targets policy makers and academics, and special screenings have been conducted at research centers and key political events, where two ministers and several parliamentary politicians have seen the film.