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.

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

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

roger

Hi just read the list of folks looking for this on DVD – we personally gave the permaculture magazine in the UK an arm full of DVD’s last year and they still have some, so if you write to them.
info@permaculture-magazine.co.uk they’ll send you out one but you’ll have to pay for postage…
Very best wishes
Rebecca as in the film above

This is filmmaker Rebecca Hosking’s response on the issue (thanks to the forum on Transition Living.org)

“…Unfortunately the BBC are not going to make our film salable anytime soon.
However the BBC are at the moment posting out copies of the DVD to interested parties ( including folks wanting to show the film at local meetings) but this ends in a weeks time.

However we knew this would happen so to help extend this distribution process time, we sent many official copies to the permaculture mag.
If you contact them, they will be able to help you.
[info@permaculture-magazine.co.uk].

As for legality of showing others, yes you can show our film publicly, the copyright is owned by the BBC, however the audience must not be charged to watch the film.
As long as you don’t charge you are fine.

very best wishes

Rebecca”

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