Mae Posop's Profile

The question put to me was, "Tell us about the title of your doc series. The Search For Mae Posop. What does it mean?" Wonderful question. I love to talk about my new best friend. In most rice growing areas of Southeast Asia there is an ancient spirit of rice that resides in a Rice Goddess or Rice Mother. For thousands of years her birth and life have appeared in legend and folklore in all regions of Thailand where she is called Mae Posop. Fast-forward to today: now rural rice farmers are concerned that she is being taken for granted and that their rich rice cultural heritage is fast disappearing. Only in the past five decades has her veneration been threatened by modern agriculture, changing rice growing economics, and industrialization. Wait for Superman no more. In The Search For Mae Posop she will be returned to center stage where she will direct our cameras to rural farmers learning and working hard to remain resilient and to continue to feed their families during this era of climate change.

Her offer of hope lies in the alternative rice farming movement that seeks alternative ways to cultivate rice which are in harmony with nature. Being in harmony with nature is a concept that is instantly desirable to us all. In the title, the use of her name, specifically in the Thai language, will be understood and considered both clever and clear by its narrowly defined Southeast Asian audiences: clever, in a way that is compelling to the rural rice farmer audience and clear, in a way that tells the viewer what it is they are going to see. It is critical that the huge rural farm populations of Southeast Asia (a) expands its understanding of the risks already underway, and (b) grasps what its seeing and is able to assess their own options within that paradigm. Is there a better way to protect their families and their greater communities? Far greater than considerations of economic and civic infrastructures is how a single man may feed his family. This documentary series, distributed only over the Internet, will help begin that effort.