BRITISH AND IRISH FILM FESTIVAL
Derek vs Derek
On neighbouring Devon farms, two men named Derek pursue opposing visions of the countryside: one champions intensive food production, while the other is rewilding his land. As animals escape and tempers flare, their disagreement becomes funny, revealing and unexpectedly hopeful.
Director
James Dawson (Organ Stops: Saving the King of Instruments)
CAST
Derek Banbury • Derek Gow
RATING
RUNTIME
1h 28m
COUNTRY
United Kingdom
GENRE
Documentary, Environment, Farming
LANGUAGE
English
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FILM NOTES
Two neighbours, two visions—and one wonderfully unruly patch of the English countryside.
Filmed over several years in Devon, Derek vs Derek observes an ideological divide playing out across a shared boundary. Derek Banbury runs a dairy, beef and arable farm centred on food production, while conservationist Derek Gow is transforming neighbouring land through habitat restoration, free-ranging animals and species reintroduction. Their disagreement asks what Britain’s countryside should become—and who decides.
James Dawson gives both farmers room to be stubborn, funny and fully human, allowing larger questions about biodiversity and food security to emerge naturally from their encounters. Escaped animals and fraying tempers bring plentiful English humour, but the film’s lasting pleasure lies in its openness to dialogue. Thought-provoking without becoming heavy, it offers a warm and hopeful invitation to consider common ground.
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