On Friday 25th July, I stood in front of a crowd of 100+ people in Keynsham community centre and introduced what would be an energising and inspiring evening of film screenings, an expert panel discussion and moving conversations.

It’s safe to say I was nervous. I had been working with Nikki Dodd, the BAFTA award winning director of One Last Farm, on the planning and marketing of this event for weeks. And, however fabulously organised Nikki is and well prepared we were, holding a space that is open and inviting of participation and discussion is always a challenge. It struck me that for those few hours I was responsible not only for the facilitation of the evening, but for guiding audience members on a journey that I personally hoped would:

1. Build awareness of sustainable farming practice and the social justice issues surrounding the experiences of UK farmers,
2. Stimulate emotional connection with the topics and other audience members and,
3. Motivate a sense of personal agency, and, a desire to change and challenge a broken system that we are all part of.

We have received some amazing feedback in person and through our survey since the session. But, data is limited. However wonderful the many wonderful comments and thank yous after the screening were, I will never truly know the full extent of the impact the screening event had. I will never know whether I achieved my goals and was able to meet my intention. Here is just a small reflection on my personal learning from the day. I can only continue to hope that it set off invisible ripples of change.

Community spirit

As part of the Somerset Food Trail Festival, we had the opportunity to connect the screening event within a much larger programme of local events. This was really important for us, and something Nikki put a lot of time and effort into. In preparation, she built a network of organisations in the local area all who shared similar values, and cared about our local environment and/or food systems. This meant that when I stared out at the sea of faces, I recognised very few. And when I asked where everyone was from, it was clear there was a diverse range of people from different places who had come together because of their joint interest and hope for the evening. What this audience represented, was a very small community that would exist together, sharing the same space and going on the same emotional journey for a few hours. This was not only a place for them to learn about our food systems, but to taste test ‘community spirit’. No pressure I told myself!

Local stories

From my research, I know that personalised and local stories can be one of most effective methods for inspiring change. This was important to consider because of the Somerset Food Trail Festival we were part of, but also because one of the films screened was Nikki’s BAFTA winning One Last Farm. This stunning short film shares the story of Catherine Withers who was the farmer of Bristol’s last functioning farm- Yew Tree Farm – which has since closed. (Yes this was the same film I screened in the last film club! It was such a hit I decided to do it again but with Nikki this time!).

As one of our panellists, Catherine’s fierce determination and passion for the farm, which has since closed, and her deep connection with nature, really hit this message home. Her story is a challenging one that the film captures beautifully, and her words and hope are contagious. As I sat at the front and asked the questions I watched the audiences visually more with the words she was saying, being actively shaped by her story. I connected and strongly empathised with her tale, and from my vantage point at the front of the room, I could see that the audience did too.

We were really lucky to also have Nick Gates, the director of the first film we screened Save Our Wild Isles: Hungry for Change, and Kate Hughes, Chair of Sustainable Food Somerset. It was fascinating to watch as they shared their personal journeys in how they both were challenging the food system. Each held different perspectives and backgrounds with, Nick coming at the topic as a filmmaker and Kate as a journalist and farmer. Yet, they shared values and both had a deeply embedded care for the natural world. Their stories interwove with Catherine’s own, crafting a compelling case that clearly explained why we should be valuing our farmers, biodiversity and food more. Nicks tales of educational programmes for primary school children about growing food and cooking fresh produce, and Kate’s about her experience in agroforestry, provided extraordinary examples of the ways the food system could be challenged. It demonstrated the positive impact local projects can have.

Impact

I will never know the impact of this film club. Or of these personal, shared moments and emotional stories. But they gave me hope, they motivated me to challenge my own beliefs and practices. They also gave me the confidence to keep going, to keep trying to make change and inspire a meaningful impact.

Thank you!

I really must thank Cinema for All whose funding allowed this event to take place at the scale it was! We would never have been able to reach such a large audience without this generous funding. It covered the venue and the phenomenal local food and drinks, that provided an amazing opportunity for audiences to relax, discuss and taste how fantastic local produce is!

I need to thank our sponsors and supporters who helped the day run so smoothly and helped feed our audience too! These include Keynsham Film Works, Keynsham Community Space, Somerset Food Trail Festival and Yeo Valley. And to our food and drink providers: Dunleavy Vineyards, Wilding Cider, Bristol Beer Factory and Savour Farmshop & Kitchen (across the street!).

I can’t thank our volunteers enough! They were kind, accepting of all my bossy instructions and a massively encouraging super force that I could easily trust to actually run the show (and they really did) while me and Nikki busied ourselves with tech and facilitation. Thank you for your time, positive encouragement and friendship. You are all stars!

And thank you Nikki, for this amazing opportunity. I have learnt so very much from you. And it was an absolute joy to work together. A night I will never forget that has left an impression that will last a life time. I cannot wait to see what you do next as I truly believe you are a talented filmmakers and work miracles as an events organiser!

If you want to set up your own screening of One Last Farm or repeat a similar structure to what we used and host a One Last Farm, One Last Chance screening event, get in touch with Nikki through her website. Here you can also find out if there is an upcoming screening near you.