WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BEES?, Adriana Otero and Robin Canul's Directorial Debut, Continues Its Successful Festival Tour

The documentary What Happened to the Bees? (¿Qué les pasó a las abejas?) is the result of THE JOURNEY that two Yucatecan filmmakers, Adriana Otero and Robin Canul, took with the Mayan communities of southern Mexico to unearth the truth surrounding the death of millions of bees in 2012. Through the guidance of Mayan leaders Gustavo Huchin and Leydi Pech, Otero and Canul learn of the essential role bees play in the agriculture and survival of the indigenous habitants of the states of Campeche and Yucatán, and the devastating effects of agrochemicals on both a species and an entire nation.

What Happened to the Bees?, the first feature film made in Yucatan, was released at the end of 2019 and participated in more than 20 festivals around the world, it is an incisive documentary that reveals the dangers that glyphosate fumigation and monocultures represent for ancestral models of survival that have based on respect and coexistence with nature.

"During 2012, thousands of bees died daily in the Hopelchén region and this mortality coincided with the arrival of the agribusiness concept imposed by the transnational company Monsanto. Its indiscriminate use of pesticides and herbicides caused tragedy for the Mayan communities, who saw not only their lands affected but also reduced the production of food for the entire country," expressed the directors of the documentary.

COVID has highlighted all kinds of environmental disasters in the world, including the especially devastating effects experienced by unprotected communities, and a documentary such as What Happened to the Bees? underscores the importance of taking notice of the world around us. The environmental crisis is not long-term; it is already being experienced throughout the world as a result of global warming and government policies that favor monocultures, while actively undermining the continuity of autonomous community networks that do not depend on the principle of profit and accumulation. In their film directors, Otero and Canul elucidate the lethal effects of agrochemicals that are still legal and widely used in countries like Mexico, the United States, and Argentina, and tell the powerful story of how the Mayan indigenous communities took it upon themselves to confront the Mexican authorities and transnational company Monsanto in a fight for survival.

What Happened to the Bees? is the first feature film produced in Yucatan and is currently on tour at festivals around the world. It has participated in important festivals such as the Morelia International Film Festival, where it was part of the Morelia - Sundance Story Lab; DOCSMX, Documentary Festival of Mexico City; and the Tulum International Film Festival. It is part of the official selection in the Gira Ambulante, Mexico 2020 and the tour continues in:

SEPTEMBER 2020
- Humans of Film Festival (Amsterdam, Netherlands), September 4 to 6.
- Freeland Film Fest (Green Lake, Wisconsin), September 11-15.
- FIDBA International Documentary Film Festival (Buenos Aires, Argentina), August 27 to September 30.
- International Film Festival of Puerto Madryn MAFICI (Puerto Madryn, Argentina), September 19 to 29.

OCTOBER 2020
- Viva Mexico, Rencontres cinématographiques, París, Francia - October 7 to 11.
- Festival de cine y cultura -Latinamerika i Fokus - Malmö, Suecia - October 19 to 25.
NOVEMBER
- Festival Suncine MX, (Mexico) - November 4 to 12.

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