Wilding

Letting it all go to seed is the answer to revitalising the land and its visitors, suggests this soul-nourishing film about innovative farming.

Adapted from the bestselling memoir of the same name by Isabella Tree, this visually stunning documentary captures the author (who narrates) and her husband Charlie Burrell’s determination to revive the land after he inherits a 400-year-old, 3500-acre English farm. The property has seen better days – its soil now turned to dust from overproduction – so the couple set about handing it back to Mother Nature, introducing longhorn cattle, wild pigs and ponies, and allowing the trees, weeds and bushes to take root. What happens next is sure to amaze.

First-time director David Allen spent years capturing Tree and Burrell’s remarkable experiment with graceful patience. Debuting at the BFI London Film Festival, his film delivers joyous footage of the transforming terrain and the incredible animals – some endangered, others long thought lost – that flourish within its boundaries. Bolstered by gorgeously animated interludes, it’s lovingly crafted and packed with advice on how we can all play our part; Wilding is a breath of fresh air bearing the promise of a brighter future.

“A joy for anyone who loves natural history documentaries, Tree and Burrell’s extraordinary project will give hope to anyone concerned about the challenges the Earth faces after centuries of industrial farming.” – The Arts Desk