Derek vs Derek (15)

Two Devon neighbours face off over the future of the countryside in this warm, wry documentary about farming, conservation and some troublesome wild boar.

The film captures gentle feuding between second generation dairy farmer Derek Banbury and rebellious Scottish rewilder Derek Gow. Gow has swapped his ovine flock for wild boar whose rootling naturally reshapes the landscape. Unfortunately, this annoys Banbury, when the boar breach the admittedly flimsy-looking fencing and sometimes eat sheep. What is clear is that traditional farmers will be even more hopping mad if wolves are introduced to the area, a proposition discussed at a conference that Gow hosts on his land.

What seems to win over Banbury is the case that Gow makes about declining insect populations, especially the pollinators, whose populations have reduced by as much as 70% in some areas thanks to insecticides. It won’t turn Banbury into a Green party voter all at once, but it gently builds up persuasive arguments, and in any case makes for a lovely viewing experience as a nature movie, with gorgeous shots of little water voles, plucky beavers and elegant storks. A delight.