“Earth: Muted”, Mikael Kristersson/ Asa Ekman/ Oscar Hedin, Sweden, 2021, 71’

At the bottom of Hanyuan valley in Sichuan province of China, bees are going extinct due to extensive use of pesticides and monocultures. In this lush landscape that hides an ecosystem on the brink of collapse, three farming families work hard in the field worrying about their children's future.

Cao, a thriving fruit cultivator, follows the recommendations of the authorities to spray pesticides and hand-pollinate hundreds of trees. Season after season, he gets to acknowledge that his methods may harm the environment, yet his wish to send his granddaughters to university makes him continue.

Jingjing, the 7-year old daughter of beekeepers Zhang and Chen, travels thousands of kilometers up North to see her parents. They never intended to leave the child behind with the grandparents, but the the bees wouldn’t survive in Hanyuan, and Jingjing’s future depends on their livelihood.

Ye, a single parent living on the top of the mountain, wants to bet his last money on an organic cherry orchard. To finish his house and pay for his boy’s education, their income must increase. When his father puts pressure to spray the crop to protect it from pests, Ye is prone to give in.

Cao, Jingjing and Ye are shown in relation to nature – in an orchard without pollinating insects, among the hives of the last domesticated bees and in a mountainside forest where wild bees still fly. Their stories reveal an universal human conflict - the difficulty to choose between your dear ones’ immediate needs and the bigger picture, the well-being of planet and mankind itself.