A one-off screening at Reading Biscuit Factory of Wilding plus a post-film panel discussion – part of Reading International Festival, in collaboration with Transition Town Reading (photo credit: Knepp) .
Based on Isabella Tree’s best-selling book by the same title, Wilding tells the story of a young couple that battles entrenched tradition and bets on nature for the future of their failing, four-hundred-year-old estate.
Ripping down the fences, and hoping to renew the growth of mycorrhizal fungi deep in the soil, they set the land back to the wild and entrust its recovery to a motley mix of animals both tame and wild. This is the beginning of what will become one of the most significant rewilding experiments in Europe.
Over time, the soil replenishes itself – with a little help from some charming pigs – and there is the miraculous return of rare species like the purple emperor butterfly, white stork and turtle doves, who make their homes at Knepp.
It is a transformation far beyond anything anyone could have dreamed of, captured in intimate detail by five-time Emmy Award-winning documentarian David Allen and multi- BAFTA & Emmy Award-winning cinematographers Tim Cragg and Simon de Glanville.
You can book your tickets here.
Reviews
“Wonderful…An inspiring true story that shows how we can revive nature and restore hope”
— Patrick Barkham, The Guardian
“Nature is healing in this soul-enhancing, hopeful ode to the British countryside” ★★★★ Time Out
“Visually stunning… a life enhancing experience” ★★★★ The Arts Desk
“A lyrical hymn to the self-healing of the English countryside.”
— Dog and Wolf
Post-film Q&A panel:
Professor Alastair Driver, Director of Rewilding Britain, and Specialist Advisory Board Member for the Knepp Estate.
Mandy Lieu, Director of Ewhurst Park Biodiversity Project.
Professor Chris Rhodes, Chair of Transition Town Reading, and Director of Fresh-lands Environmental Actions.
Programme:
7.30 pm – 8.45 pm, film screening.
8.45 pm – 9.00 pm, break.
9.00 pm – 9.30 pm, Q&A panel.
