Rebecca’s Wild Farm
by jessica on Apr.23, 2010, under JOURNAL: Nature, art, cultural perspectives
First released by the BBC as “A Farm for the Future” in 2009, this film produced by gifted wildlife filmmaker Rebecca Hosking takes a frank and forthright look at nature preservation, the energy crisis, and modern consumption.
Raised on her family’s wildlife-conscious farm in Devon, England, she explores the stark realities of our dependence on oil and its consequences for the near future. The film embarks on a journey to find whether alternative farming methods can combine efficient food production with nature conservation.
This is definitely one of the best documentaries I’ve seen. It is excellently researched and well-presented, and stands apart from others by going beyond mere alarm-raising and presenting practical, ingenious solutions from forward-thinking problem solvers. As a bonus, the cinematography of Britain’s rural wildlife and the stunning landscape of Wales’s Snowdonia region is breathtaking.
I strongly urge you to see this film – you will never think of the food you eat, our environment, or our modern lifestyle in the same way again.
The whole program runs around 50 minutes, which you can watch right here (thanks YouTube!)
Part 1
See the other four chapters:
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
See the program descriptions for the US broadcast here:
Link TV DocDebut: Rebecca’s Wild Farm
8 Comments for this entry
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Dialog with students | Sustainable Well-being
November 28th, 2011 on 11:40 pm[...] I think it’s one of the best I’ve seen (and only 50 minutes). You can watch it online here. A review and all 5 parts have been made available through the generosity of Jessica [...]
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Jessica Crabtree, Pastel Artist
Native American Portraits & Wildlife Original Fine Art Paintings
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May 4th, 2010 on 3:21 am
Hello Miss Crabtree,
I would like to get the video on Gardening please post how this is possible.
thank you very much. and God Bless You.
S Acuna
May 4th, 2010 on 9:00 am
I have searched (along with many others) for a way to buy the DVD of this documentary, but without success. BBC, who originally launched the film, retains the copyright and has not produced it commercially. Other networks such as LinkTV in the US have only limited broadcasting rights; hence the You Tube posting (see below).
This is filmmaker Rebecca Hosking’s response on the issue (thanks to the forum on Transition Living.org)
You can view this post on its original forum thread by clicking here. There is some very good discussion on the rights and distribution situation, that shows just how wide the international demand for this film is.
Hopefully if there is enough demand BBC will recognize the opportunity and release a DVD. I will post any updates on the situation as I come across them.
Jessica
July 15th, 2010 on 10:13 am
On July 10, the filmmaker posted this response on the LinkTV page:
August 25th, 2010 on 10:41 pm
Just saw the first show on TVO here in Canada. The first half was so depressing I almost switched it off. I’m so glad I didn’t. I came looking for more info about the show and found this site. I’m looking forward to viewing the rest of the shows. Good stuff Rebecca.
roger
February 20th, 2011 on 11:52 am
I am so pleased I recorded Rebecca’s Wild Farm from Link TV. However, I would love to have a DVD so that I could show it other than on my personal TV. How can I contact the BBC to ask them to make copies availabe? I want to use this with my apprentices, who will bein here March 1st. Peace Myra http://www.lapaixherbfarm.com
February 20th, 2011 on 12:33 pm
Hello Myra -
As you can see from the other responses to this post as well as on the LinkTV program page, lots of folks are clamoring for a DVD of this excellent documentary. But according to Rebecca Hosking, BBC holds the rights to the production and doesn’t plan on issuing a DVD release. The UK permaculture society possessed some of the original copies and was distributing them for what they cost to mail, but I doubt they have any left and a lot of people are looking for a more practical avenue.
Also, the broadcasting restrictions on re-distributing the film, and on public showing, are somewhat fuzzy – so most of those interested are making do with viewing the online version, or recorded ones like yours. It’s a shame because it’s a prime candidate for large-scale community & educational use.
I am going to contact a few of the entities involved in production and see if I can’t stir up some response. I will keep the post updated and if I get any leads I will be sure to let everyone know.
Jessica
February 3rd, 2012 on 9:07 am
I just received a response to my inquiry via the BBC Earth Team [bbcearthteam@bbc.com] about the release of a dvd for “Rebecca’s Wild Farm.”
My original message:
“Hello – I live in the United States and am inquiring about one of BBC Natural World’s productions “A Farm for the Future,” released here in the States as “Rebecca’s Wild Farm.” After seeing this excellent program I wrote a post about it for my blog and ever since I have been getting constant feedback from individuals wanting to buy it on dvd.
The independent network that aired it here, LinkTV, also has an active forum on the program page where people are sharing info on how to obtain a copy for personal use and also for community/educational initiatives. I am aware that there is a version available through BBC Active specifically for public showing purposes, but the costs puts it out of reach for many people just wanting a personal copy.
There is a growing number of people all over the world who would like to see this film as a commercially available dvd. The filmmaker Rebecca Hosking has stated that she is unaware of plans by the BBC to do this. So on behalf of my readers I am trying to find out what is preventing the release of a saleable dvd – whether it is a legal/rights issue or simply one of demand. If that is the case I can be sure there would be an enormous worldwide market! I have had no success in contacting the producers directly but any info on this matter that I could pass along to my readers would be sincerely appreciated. Regards & Thanks in advance.”
Today they responded, “…Unfortunately there are no plans to release this title on DVD as the distribution team felt there was simply not enough demand for it. I have forwarded your email regardless and they will be looking into it.”
I replied:
“Thanks so much for getting back with me.
On behalf of all those who are so enthusiastic about the film, I can assure you that it does have a huge following and any release in dvd form would be a major contribution to educators and individuals learning about sustainable living. Films like this are a great reflection on the quality and impact of BBC filmmaking. I sincerely hope that the production team will consider releasing it in the future.”
I am sure this reflects what many of you think about the film; hopefully enough such inquiries will really spur a positive response.
I seriously encourage anyone interested to contact the production team personally and petition for the dvd issue of the film, to demonstrate the potential of a market release. (You can contact them via the BBC Earth website or directly through the e-mail address mentioned above.)
As always, I will keep posting updates.
November 29th, 2011 on 9:28 am
Your kind comments are much appreciated – I’m glad the post has been helpful and I only wish there were more ways to propagate this kind of information. As you may have seen from the blog comments, there has been little success thus far in market production of the film by the BBC or otherwise, and that’s such a shame because it’s hard to find resources of this caliber anywhere. It’s great that you’re able to generate such a response among students; because as you know the real challenge goes far beyond “being green” as it means to most people – i.e. recycling plastic bottles and switching off the unused lights. Our modern lifestyle is so fragile in its dependencies and it may take some drastic changes to get folks back in touch with where they need to be.
There was another film on Link TV which offers some material you might also find pertinent – “The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil” – discussing the radical change in food production and infrastructure that Cubans were forced to implement after the fall of the USSR. What they did became a model example of sustainability. You may already be familiar with this, but again – this is all about getting solutions out into the open!!
Thanks again and best wishes –
Jessica