A new documentary set on a quiet Devon road is turning one of farming’s most heated debates – food production versus nature restoration – into a story about two neighbours. ‘Derek vs Derek’ is blunt, funny and surprisingly moving, and it may soon arrive at a cinema, village hall or farm venue near you.
Deep in the Devon countryside, between Okehampton and Launceston to be precise, live two farmers who share a first name – but very little else. Derek Banbury is an intensive dairy farmer who has spent more than five decades building a productive, family-run business. For him, farming has one clear purpose: feeding the nation. While over the hedge is Derek Gow, a former sheep farmer turned one of Britain’s best-known rewilders.
Known for reintroducing native species such as beavers, Gow has been dubbed a “maverick” by the media and is turning his land over to nature. But to his neighbour, Derk Banbury, the result looks like the devastation of a once productive farm. “It’s not farming. It’s just a mess.” He says.
Three years over the hedge
The 88-minute film documenting their differences was shot over three years. It follows the two Dereks as tempers fray, wild animals escape and the land between them is radically transformed.
It’s a film about land use told by farmers rather than about them. Neither man is turned into a villain. Instead, the film lets each make his case in his own words, often with colourful language – which is why it has a 15 certificate.
The backdrop is a farming sector under pressure, from climate change and the wettest winter on record to economic uncertainty. That gives the neighbourly sparring a sharper edge. But behind the personal differences are real questions: what should the countryside look like, and who gets to decide?
“My cows come before wildlife, I’m afraid,” Derek Banbury admits, adding later: “I don’t want to broaden my mind.” Meanwhile Derek Gow tells us that every year his neighbour offers to cut his ‘untidy’ hedges – and every year he tells him to “F*ck off.”
From farm to festival success
So far audiences have described Derek Vs Derek as everything from “intriguing” to “relevant, well-constructed and quite hilarious”, and “an absolute ray of light… a shot of hope”. It was an official selection at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival in Greece and screened at Sheffield DocFest before its official UK release in September.
One thing that sets the film’s release apart is how it’s hitting the road, to reach the people it is about. Screenings aren’t being confined to urban arthouse cinemas, it’s part of a nationwide screening campaign aimed at farming communities. Some venues have held free screenings for local farmers, others have followed the film with panel discussions or Q&As with Derek Gow and the filmmakers, and some have shared profits with the Farming Community Network, the film’s nominated charity.
Why it matters
Debates about rewilding and food production often split into opposing camps. Derek vs Derek doesn’t take sides, or smooth the differences away. But by putting two real neighbours on screen, it shows that the argument is ultimately about people, livelihoods and a landscape we all share.
As farmers are increasingly asked to deliver both food and environmental benefits, often on the same farm, the film offers a timely starting point for conversation – and a reminder that the most important debates about the countryside often begin on our doorstep. Or even right next door.
See if Derek Vs Derek will be screening near you. And in the meantime, you can watch the trailer here.
