Seeds of Discontent

‘When the Land Is Taken, What Remains?’

STORY

In the remote Niassa Province of northern Mozambique, plantation worker Amado risks everything to improve conditions for his fellow workers after international investors transform community land into vast commercial tree plantations.

As promises of jobs, development and prosperity begin to unravel, Amado finds himself caught between company management, traditional leaders and a divided community struggling to defend its rights. What begins as a local dispute reveals the human cost of global investment and the unequal power between rural communities and those seeking to profit from their land.

Part character portrait, part political investigation, SEEDS OF DISCONTENT explores land rights, dignity and resistance, asking who ultimately benefits when development comes at the expense of the people it claims to serve.

WATCH THE FILM

SEEDS OF DISCONTENT is available to watch online through the organisations that commissioned the film. Further background information, research and educational resources can also be found via the links below.

🎬 Watch the film – Transnational Institute (TNI)

🎬 Watch the film – FIAN International

🎬 IMDb

PRESS KIT & BACKGROUND

Explore the research, reports and campaign materials that informed SEEDS OF DISCONTENT, including the investigation into the human rights impacts of large-scale tree plantations in Niassa Province, Mozambique.

📄 Human Rights in Niassa Province – Background Report

📄 Transnational Institute – Film & Campaign Information

📄 FIAN International – Film & Resources

AUDIENCE & REVIEWS

IMDb

“A powerful short documentary about how supposedly well-meaning Dutch and Swedish investments can result in land grabbing and human rights abuses in one small community in Mozambique.” – Transnational Institute

“A case study of how investors claiming to apply ‘responsible’ practices can end up fuelling land grabs and sowing deep divisions in rural communities.” – Farmlandgrab.org

“The strength of Seeds of Discontent is that it shows what land grabbing means to the affected communities, and how difficult it is for them to resist.” – FIAN International

Read more about the film and campaign.

AWARDS & FESTIVALS

Official Selection

– Festival delle Terre – International Audiovisual Award of Biodiversity, Rome (2013)

Campaign Screenings

Following its release, SEEDS OF DISCONTENT was screened internationally by the Transnational Institute (TNI), FIAN International and members of the Hands off the Land Alliance as part of campaigns on land rights, food sovereignty and human rights.

FURTHER READING

Transnational Institute (TNI)
“The Human Rights Impacts of Tree Plantations in Niassa Province, Mozambique”

Hands off the Land Alliance
“The Global Land Grab” – An introduction to the global forces driving large-scale land acquisitions.

FIAN International
“Seeds of Discontent – Film & Campaign” – Background to the film and the campaign for land rights in Mozambique.

Farmlandgrab.org
“Seeds of Discontent” – Coverage of the film’s release and the international campaign against land grabbing.

Read more about the Hands off the Land Alliance.

TEAM

Producer: Geoff Arbourne
Executive Producers: Philip Seufert and Pietje Vervest
Cinematography: Jeandre Gerding
Editor: Daan Wijdeveld
Commissioned by: Transnational Institute (TNI) and FIAN International
In partnership with: Hands off the Land Alliance
Languages: English, Portuguese and Yao