I, Poppy is both a family portrait and a tribute to one man’s determination. For generations, the family has been growing poppies. The son, Mangilal, embarks on a crusade to fight corruption and defend the income the farmers receive for their poppy seeds, which, like a bleeding heart, exude a precious treasure coveted by the pharmaceutical industry as well as by drug traffickers, who pay far more. Mangilal tries to unite the other farmers, organises demonstrations, spends hours on the phone: nothing seems to distract him from his commitment. Yet, he is caught in a generational trap between an elderly mother resigned to poverty and a son who is pressuring him to give up his struggle, while at the same time he is weighed down by the threat of an invisible repression. Vivek Chaudhary films a combat that is tiny in its results yet immense in its bravery, but also the eternal injustice inflicted on the poorest.
Aisha Rahim
First feature film · French premiere