DEREK VS DEREK
TUES, 12/8, 4:00pm, 87 min
BAY STREET THEATER
Director: James Dawson
Producers: James Dawson, Serena Kennedy
Editor: James Gold
Cinematographer: Jon Sayers
Told with a sense of wry British humor, the story follows Derek Banbury and Derek Gow who have farms bordering each other in Devon. They also have two distinctly different takes on what “real” farming is. Traditional dairy farmer Derek Banbury is horrified at what he sees as the devastation of his neighbor Derek Gow’s once-productive farm. Dubbed a “maverick rewilder” by the media, Derek Gow is an unrepentant ex-sheep farmer hellbent on turning his land into an oasis for nature. Bio-diversity is his middle name. Shot over three years, the film charts the two Dereks’ turbulent relationship with passion and humor, as tempers fray and wild animals run amok. But conflict can sometimes result in solutions. As the director put it: My hope is their story will at turns amuse, entertain and provoke audiences to think about the difficult questions the film poses and to catalyze tangible change for farmers and for nature.
James Dawson is an award-winning director. His first documentary, Organ Stops: Saving the King of Instruments, is about a group of eccentric pipe-organ enthusiasts saving instruments from churches that are closing.