Weather report for the end of the century

At the time of the GATT negotiations and increasing difficulties in the farming world, and at the time when it was announced that one third of Swiss farmers would disappear within a few years following a GATT agreement, TELEVISION SUISSE ROMANDE wished to show that the world of country life is not only an economic business operation, but that it also possesses a knowledge, a culture, and an identity. They commissioned Swiss filmmaker Jean-Bernard Menould to capture these values on film.Splitting his life between Geneva and the Haute-Savoie, the author filmed neighbours with whom he has had ties of friendship for years. He did this for several months and through different seasons in order to show the last rites of a country community undergoing a process of extinction.Made with semi-professional video equipment, this film was shown on prime time the day after the GATT agreements were signed.