On the making of Derek v Derek: a comedic documentary exploring two visions of farming

The Dereks live up the road from one another on idyllic farms in rural Devon. That’s about where the similarities end.

In the film we see Derek Banbury, who self describes as an intensive farmer, proudly showing off his perfectly manicured hedges and long rows of neatly planted crops. His neighbour, Derek Gow, has no use for symmetry and doesn’t intentionally farm anything. Instead, he sold off his livestock and devoted his land to rewilding. Whereas Derek Banbury laments plummeting prices he gets for a litre of his cows’ milk, his neighbour rides through his fields followed by the snorts of a wild boar. Rewilding Derek will not be content until his land has ‘healed’. Industrial farming Derek will not be content until the beavers stop damming up farmer’s waterways.

The documentary Derek v Derek began as an attempt by director James Damer Dawson to make a film about the rapid loss of biodiversity in the UK. What started as an initial discussion with Rewilding Derek turned into a film about two contrasting world views when Derek introduced James to his neighbour. Through the two Derek’s interactions, Damer Dawson explores the pros and cons of using the land for food production or saving nature.

Credit: Joss Barratt

At first Industrial Farmer Derek insists that his neighbour Derek is bonkers for wanting to rewild his land and introduce near extinct animals. His arguments are similar to the ones many worried about food sovereignty are making, that to achieve real independence the UK must produce more of its own food. Rewilding Derek thinks these arguments are nonsense. Much of the farming land is used to raise livestock, which in turn consumes feed grown on deforested land overseas. When farmers start growing radishes on the grounds of Buckingham Palace, Rewilding Derek says he might become concerned about growing enough food in this country. 

After insisting that he’ll never accept his neighbour’s point of view, Traditional Farmer Derek has an epiphany one summer afternoon while visiting one of the richest habitats of the rewilding project. Birds that Traditional Farmer Derek grew up hearing in his childhood have disappeared from his farm. Every year he worries a combination of drought and flooding will destroy his crops. Something must change, and that something is more in line with how Rewilding Derek is managing his land.

Before the film’s general release in the UK this Friday, The Conduit sat down with Nicola Brown, the film’s Impact Producer, to discuss what impact she hopes the film will have on British agricultural policy and ultimately biodiversity loss.

One of the questions I had watching the film was whether rewilding will lead to greater food insecurity? What are your thoughts after making this film?

That question always comes up in Q & As. I’d say neither Derek has the answer, and it’s about finding the middle ground. Full rewilding isn’t the right answer, neither is full intensive farming. It’s about having the synergy in the middle. Derek Branbury [Traditional Farming Derek] has made jokes that we’ll be eating butterflies. Meanwhile grass roots organisations are doing the real work for a sustainable future.

One of the things that surprised me watching the film was just how civil the farmers were when they discussed deeply contentious ideas. Did that surprise you as well?

I think that’s one of my favourite pieces of feedback from screenings. People said they were surprised by how respectful they were. They disagree on many things, and they are neighbours and live next door to each other. We had a premier at the Curzon in Mayfair and all through the Q&A they just bickered, but they were respectful with one another.

What are your aspirations for this film?

The goal is to get 10,000 farmers to view the film by August 2027. Some broadcasters are interested, but we want to hold on to rights until next autumn because farmers are busy and we want to create time for them to see it first. The full film is 88 minutes, but the version some hosts are showing to farmers is only 59, with the thought farmers don’t have time so we wanted to make something shorter.

We’d love to have a parliamentary screening of the film.

We’re currently on a big fundraising push so that cost doesn’t have to be a barrier to farmers seeing the film. We’d love to take the cinema experience to barns, pubs and village halls across the UK. Supporting valuable conversations about the future of farming and nature recovery in the process.

If you wish to support the team or open up any doors to fundraising you can contact them at info@derekvsderek.com

If you’re interested in hosting a screening: derekvsderek.com/screenings

Current cinema listings can be found: derekvsderek.com/cinemalistings

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