This winter East Anglian Land Workers Alliance in association with Norwich Farmshare presents ‘Conversations about Food’, a series of films about sustainable agriculture. We present five films about growing food and the farmers, chefs and the communities who are leading the way in creating new agricultural systems that care for the environment, provide nutrient dense food and provide a fair wage for farmers.
After each film there will be discussion time for people to share ideas and experiences and build our social capacity for change. We want these films to lead to a real change in how people think about food in east Anglia and beyond.
Gracie’s Backyard, Thursday Nov 2nd, 9pm, Cinema City Norwich
Gracie's Backyard is a documentary film that offers a candid look into the daily life of the world’s northernmost commercial permaculture farm through the eyes of the people who live and work there. Located at 59°N in rural Sweden, Ridgedale Permaculture is a 10-hectare farm that integrates several enterprises while offering an example of how holistic design can help pave the way to a new model of food production that is small-scale, profitable and regenerative for the land.
Using the Our Screen platform to secure a screening of this film at Cinema City in Norwich this promises to be a great start to the festival. Tickets are £11 each.
Ticket prices for the following films:
£2 a ticket per film, adults
£1 a ticket, under 15s
Free for under 5s
£5 for 4 films (excluding Gracie’s Backyard)
£5 for a family ticket (2 adults, 2 children) for one night
We advise you to email us to reserve places. For film 2 the capacity is 40 people, for films 3,4 and 5 it is 50.
Please email eastanglianlandworkersalliance@outlook.com to reserve places. Tickets will be provided with payment on the night. Further information and updates can be found at https://www.facebook.com/eastangliaLWA/
Sustainable, Sun Nov 12th, 5pm
The Kinda Kafe, 21 Castle Meadow, Norwich NR1 3DH
A vital investigation of the economic and environmental instability of America’s food system, from the agricultural issues we face — soil loss, water depletion, climate change, pesticide use — to the community of leaders who are determined to fix it. Sustainable is a film about the land, the people who work it and what must be done to sustain it for future generations.
In Our Hands, Sun Dec 3rd, 5pm
Friends Meeting House, Upper Goat Ln, Norwich NR2 1EW
"Our current industrial food system is a vast giant, propped up by an out dated subsidy regime that pays out to landowners and leaves many farmers adrift in its wake.
But ... from the hedgerows and by-roads, in the fields and furrows can be heard the stirring of change.
Stories of struggle from the global South have spread like pollen on the wind and inspired farmers around us. They have learned of the idea of food sovereignty and have heard of a global movement to take back control of the food system. A new agricultural landscape is emerging, one that will bring back life to the soil, a fair wage to the farmer and a flavour to the tomato.
During the summer of the Brexit referendum, The Landworkers' Alliance and Black Bark Films decided to unearth the farms and farmers that are making this change happen.
We stand on the brink, the future is uncertain, but the seeds of a better food system are In Our Hands!
Sun Jan 7th, 5pm
Friends Meeting House, Upper Goat Ln, Norwich NR2 1EW
Choice of films - email us your preference or we’ll decide on the night!
Seed: The Untold Story or
In the last century, 94% of our seed varieties have disappeared. SEED: The Untold Story follows passionate seed keepers protecting our 12,000 year-old food legacy.
Symphony of the soil
An artistic exploration of the miraculous substance soil. The film also examines our human relationship with soil, the use and misuse of soil in agriculture, deforestation and development, and the latest scientific research on soil’s key role in ameliorating the most challenging environmental issues of our time.
Queen of the Sun
Taking us on a journey through the catastrophic disappearance of bees and the mysterious world of the beehive, this engaging and ultimately uplifting film weaves an unusual and dramatic story of the heartfelt struggles of beekeepers, scientists and philosophers from around the world including Michael Pollan, Gunther Hauk and Vandana Shiva. Together they reveal both the problems and the solutions in renewing a culture in balance with nature.
Polyfaces, Sun Feb 4th, 5pm
Friends Meeting House, Upper Goat Ln, Norwich NR2 1EW
As the problems of the world become more and more complex, the solutions become clear and simple.” One Australian family spend their life savings and travel to the USA, spending 4 years documenting a style of farming that will help change the fate of humanity!
Set amidst the stunning Shenandoah Valley in northern Virginia, ‘Polyface Farm’ is led by “the world’s most innovative farmer” (TIME) and uses no chemicals and feeds over 6,000 families and many restaurants and food outlets within a 3 hour ‘foodshed’ of their farm.
‘Polyfaces’ is a joyful film about connecting to the land and the community. Produced over 4 years it follows the Salatins, a 4th generation farming family who do ‘everything different to everyone else’ as they produce food in a way that works with nature, not against it. Using the symbiotic relationships of animals and their natural functions, they produce high quality, nutrient-dense products.