Magic Mud
Jakob Gottschau / Denmark / 2024 / World Premiere / 65 min
Star geologist Minik Rosing loves mud. Especially Greenlandic mud, also known as glacial rock flour - but can he prove that this magical mud can really save both the climate and solve global inequality?
The agricultural soil in your country determines your fate. It is the root of much of the world’s inequality, according to Greenlandic star geologist Minik Rosing. In many tropical countries, for example, the soil yields 20-30 per cent less than in Denmark and North America. But the solution may lie in something as humble and untapped as a mud puddle in Greenland. This is the hypothesis of the geologist who has assembled an international superhero team of soil scientists, agronomists and biologists to investigate how the so-called glacial flour can be used to cultivate more sustainable agriculture in tropical countries. It’s awe-inspiring to follow the patient scientific process from the first test mud being collected with a soup spoon tied to a broomstick, to the lab’s petri dishes, Funen cabbage fields, maize cultivation in Ghana and even an Olafur Eliasson exhibition in Versailles.