Yemen — The film "Fatima and the Coffee" portrays the story of Fatima, who has worked for eleven years at her father's coffee farm in the rural highlands of Taiz governorate in southwestern Yemen. She has dedicated her efforts to encouraging coffee cultivation and preserving the quality of Yemeni coffee, despite the growing environmental, social, and economic challenges facing this agriculture.

The film documents the impacts of climate change on coffee cultivation, including the depletion of groundwater, irregular rainfall patterns between scarcity and excess, and the emergence of harmful insects threatening coffee trees. In the face of these challenges, Fatima seeks to collaborate with agricultural engineers to develop ideas and projects that compensate for water shortages and find practical solutions for caring for coffee trees and improving their resilience.

The film also highlights one of the most prominent obstacles facing coffee cultivation in Yemen: the spread of qat cultivation at the expense of fertile agricultural lands.

Fatima makes attempts to convince qat farmers to switch to coffee cultivation, but most of them cling to qat due to its quick financial returns, while coffee requires years of care before yielding economic returns—a coffee tree produces only one crop per year, compared to two or more crops for the qat tree.

By following Fatima's journey, the film also showcases the traditional practices farmers rely on to protect coffee trees from pests.

The film's significance lies in shedding light on the repercussions of climate change on Yemen's agricultural sector, highlighting the local efforts made by farmers to adapt to these challenges, while also calling on relevant authorities to assume their responsibilities in developing effective plans and responses to address the impacts of climate change.

On both the local and international levels, the film seeks to encourage investment in Yemeni coffee cultivation—for which Yemen has been renowned for centuries—and to draw the attention of international organizations to the importance of supporting this sector. It also discusses the negative effects of the spread of qat cultivation at the expense of coffee, and highlights the pioneering role of Yemeni rural women in environmental protection and agricultural development, presenting a different image of rural women as key actors in confronting challenges and driving change.

The Yemeni documentary film "Fatima and the Coffee" by Yemeni journalist and director Rania Abdullah, a correspondent for our agency NUJINHA, was selected for participation in the second edition of the Alexandria Green Cinema Festival, and chosen in the special mention category for distinguished films—a step reflecting the growing presence of Yemeni films addressing environmental issues, climate change, and sustainable development through local human stories.