The Neglected Miracle

"In 110 minutes of breath-taking film and riveting interview, The Neglected Miracle encompasses our world and turns it upside down... Please see this film, which will give you much more than food for thought." – David Bellamy

The Neglected Miracle, New Zealand, 1985

Director: Barry Barclay
Production co: Pacific Films
Producers: John O’Shea, Craig Walters
Associate director: Peter Hawes
Photography: Rory O’Shea
Editor: Annie Collins
Music: Jenny McLeod
Sound: Guy Hiernaux, Steve Upson
Production manager: Charles Nugara
Commentary: Keri Kaa

16mm, colour, 105 minutes, PG

The Neglected Miracle is a feature length documentary dealing with questions about who is responsible for crop plant genetic resources, the basis of the world’s food supplies. Sequences shot in Peru, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Netherlands, Italy, France, Australia and New Zealand are included in the film. The film was seven years in production and during that time 106 people were interviewed, amounting to 56 hours of footage on 27km of 16mm colour film.

“In 110 minutes of breath-taking film and riveting interview, The Neglected Miracle encompasses our world and turns it upside down. It shows in elegant detail that the welfare of the developed nations is now totally dependent on key resources, the majority of which are owned by desperately poor Third World countries. The resources in question are the genes of the original wild plants which have over 15,000 years of cultivation become the cornerstones fo the world’s diet. The film raises disturbing questions concerning the ethics of exploitation and stweardship of these key resources. Who owns them, and who should profit from their development, the countries of origin or the shareholders of the corporations who reshape them? This is a documentary of epic proportions, which though shaking in its revelations is proof positive that conservation of our genetic resources can solve all the problems that now dog the progress of humanity. Please see this film, which will give you much more than food for thought.” — David Bellamy, London Film Festival, 1985

“The scientific plant breeder has brought with him a quite new power. For centuries cultivators have been influencing the evolution of their crops, but now the scientific plant breeder can direct the genetic make-up of a plant much more precisely. Processes which once took many generations to develop can now be induced in as few as three. This new power has already brought extraordinary benefits and it clearly brings awesome responsibilities. The Neglected Miracle examines the political, social and economic implications of plant husbandry. The scientific resources belong to the wealthy West; the richest, most resilient genetic resources belong to the Third World, where crops have evolved according to the needs and often harsh conditions of scientifically ‘under-developed’ communities. Barry Barclay travelled to Italy, France, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Australia, the Netherlands and Belgium to interview farmers and the scientists who are controlling the genetic destiny of their crops. Fifty-six hours of interviews have been culled down into a revelatory overview of one of the most significant and least publicised political issues of today: the stewardship of genetic crop resources. Who owns them? The countries who yield the raw materials or the corporations who reshape them? Barclay’s film, abetted by Rory O’Shea’s stunning camerawork, is vividly evocative of the communities they visited and displays a strong emotional identification with the peasantry for whom crops are simply an essential lifeforce. Without hectoring its audience for a moment, this rich exemplary documentary arouses questions we should all be asking and which the media seems to ignore.” — Bill Gosden, Wellington Film Festival, 1985

“The Neglected Miracle is a riveting examination of the global importance of stewardship of genetic agricultural resources, confirms the position of Barry Barclay as New Zealand’s most accomplished and penetrating documentary filmmaker. What emerges in The Neglected Miracle, seven years in the making, is a powerful plea for fair play. It is not enough, the film says, for scientists in industrialized countries like the Netherlands and the US to direct and develop the makeup and qualities of basic crops without ensuring benefits flow back to the communities and countries from which the raw materials have come. In the words of Erna Bennett, Irish-born plant geneticist, and one of the inspirations for the film, it is not enough to produce more. You have to produce more and make sure the poorest man in the world gets his share of it. Throughout the film, the essential life force connection between human hands, plants and seeds becomes a potent image (fine camerawork by Rory O’Shea), augmenting the director’s obvious sensitivities to the priorities of (so-called) ‘primitive’ peoples. Where the film is less successful is in answering new questions that the material brings to light, particularly in the area of global politics. Much is made of a US government trade embargo of Nicaragua which, it is claimed, means none of the “ancient” maize material taken out of Nicaragua in the 1960s for use in plant gene banks is being returned in “improved” form. This is an important ingredient in the film’s building of a case suggesting exploitation of Third World countries by the industrialized West in the field of scientific plant breeding. However, there is no apparent attempt to followup the impact of the embargo with US authorities. While some audience might feel some footage could be lopped off this two-hour version without reducing its strength, the cumulative effect of the layering of images and messages ultimately is compelling.” — Mike Nicolaidi, Variety, 31 July 1985

Screenings: The Neglected Miracle screened on 18 May 2005 in a season selected by film editor Annie Collins. Writing about her selection Annie had this to say "Barry Barclay's Neglected Miracle is probably the most beautifully woven documentary ever made in this country; intelligent, politically explosive to world power blocs and as relevant in 2005 as in the year it was made. Neglected Miracle was made with unswerving courage by Barry and Pacific Films and that commitment shows in every frame. It has very rarely been seen in this country and I'm so pleased to have the opportunity of seeing Rory O'Shea's rich images up on the big screen again."