E360 FILM CONTEST WINNER

In “Chocolates Melting Away” — the First-Place Winner of the 2026 Yale Environment 360 Film Contest — Breech Asher Harani explores how cacao growers in the Philippines are developing new techniques to protect their crops from increasingly turbulent weather.

2026 Yale Environment 360 Film Contest

In the Philippines, ideal growing conditions for cacao have fueled an industry with a market value of more than $400 million. In the Davao region, on the island of Mindanao, growers tend trees, harvest fruits, and produce premium chocolates for the domestic market. But climate change, which has brought drought, floods, more humidity, and extreme heat to the region, has presented growers with serious challenges.

Based in Davao, filmmaker Breech Asher Harani set out to document the concerns of cacao farmers at two artisanal operations and speak with agricultural researchers about the industry’s efforts to adapt to changing conditions.…