Reflection

The idea for my piece began with a camera and with a meal. I was eating a bowl of rice when I started wondering where my food came from. That curiosity led me to discover rice-fish symbiosis, a sustainable agricultural practice that has been used for over a thousand years in Zhejiang, China. I realized this system represented more than a farming method. It reflected a relationship between people, land, water, and life. I wanted to tell that story. As I explored rice-fish symbiosis through filming, I was inspired by the intelligence of the ecosystem. It’s a method that, unlike industrialized agriculture, doesn’t fight nature but works with it—no pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers, just the balance between species. Filming in the paddies, surrounded by water and insects, I began to feel grounded in the present. Nature wasn’t something distant or untouched. It was here—beneath my feet, in the ripples of a fish, in the food on my table. This year’s theme, “Looking Inside, Going Outside,” resonates deeply with me. By going outside—literally into the rice paddies—I was able to look inward and reconsider my place in nature. I learned that you don’t have to travel far to find nature. Sometimes, it’s right in front of you—in what we eat, in how we live, and in what we so often neglect. Nature, to me, means connection—between species, between generations, and between systems. My message to viewers is this: sustainability isn’t just about innovation. It’s about remembering. It’s about paying attention to the things both remotely and closely. The rice-fish system may not work everywhere, but its principles—balance, resilience, interdependence—are universal. In a changing world, we need systems that care for both people and planet. And sometimes, the first step is simply noticing what’s already there.