What does a sheep see? Does living near cows make us happier? What does a farmer think about their future?

An evening of archive film and moving image from the collections of BFI, Museum of English Rural Life and North East Film Archive about British and North East farming heritage plus new commissioned short films from documentary filmmakers and artists - Mark Jones, Shane Finan and Michele Allen. 

Includes intermission, introductions and Q&A with researchers, farmers and the filmmakers.

(This event has social distancing in place)

 

Moving South (dur: 17mins, Charles de la Tour and John Taylor, BFI, UK, 1952)

The true story of a farmer who transported his entire livestock from Yorkshire to Sussex via train - on the coldest night of the year.

 

Town Moor (dur: 6mins, NEFA/Amateur, UK , 1956)

Amateur film produced by Donald Oates of the Royal Agricultural Society of England Show taking place at the Town Moor, Newcastle upon Tyne, July 1956

 

Northern Life: Farmer, Miss Anderson (dur: 6mins, NEFA/Tyne Tees, 1977)

The life of a remarkable 80 year old woman farmer on an isolated farm near the village of Earsdon in Northumberland, Miss Anderson, who runs the farm alone.

 

Museum of English Rural Life MAFF collections (various clips, UK 1947 - 1970)

Archive public information films from Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF)

 

Vox Pops from Tyne Tees TV archive from NEFA collections (various clips, UK 1968)

 

Ruminations (dur: 15mins, Michele Allen, UK 2021)

North East photographer Michele Allen's portrait of the Town Moor in Newcastle and the lives of grazing cattle on one of Europes largest urban pasture land and the voices of people whose lives intertwine with them.

 

Because the Exchange is Complete (our: 6mins, Shane Finan, IRL 2021)

Irish artist Shane Finan asks to consider how we see sheep and how they in turn might see us

 

Ar Y Fferm (dur: 15mins, Mark Jones, UK, 2021)

Documentary filmmaker Mark Jones' short film about North Welsh farmers Olwen Ford and Geraint Davies reflects sustainability, the challenge of farming stereotypes and the ongoing economic struggles UK farmers face.

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FIELDS is a six month public programme acroos the North, East and South of England that examines the lives, stories and experiences of British sheep, cows and farmers from 1947 to the present day. 

Working with photographic, film and audio archives academic and artist research, and interviews, FIELDS traces the personal and social histories of cows, sheep and farmers. It invites us to think about their lives lived together across different regions of the UK and asks us to consider how they got here and where they are headed.

FIELDS is part of FIELD a 4 year, Wellcome Trust funded research project (2018-2022) that seeks to inform the sustainable reduction of disease in British livestock farming.

stories.field-wt.co.uk

This evening of screenings is supported by Film Hub North with National Lottery funding on behalf of the BFI Film Audience Network

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

experiences of British sheep, cows and

farmers from 1947 to the present day.

 

 

FIELDS is a six month public programme