Stroodelande
We are delighted to premiere Stroodelande (Detour East Films, 2025), the powerful story
of how one British farmer from West Sussex (James Baird) turned the threat of climate
change into a vision for nature restoration.
This film was shot in 2023-24 as James was beginning a long-term transformation of his farm.
As he welcomes a Ukrainian refugee family to live on the farm and run the local beach café,
he finds ways to turn adversity into opportunity, adapting his approach to
farming and the landscape to create a more sustainable future.
Stroodelande captures the first steps of this journey—a story of resilience, renewal, and
the deep connections between land and community.
James and his sister Alison will be with us in person to introduce the film.
Mile Cross
Green Hearts
These two wonderful short films record the journey of the Mile Cross Green Hearts group,
a grass-roots community of people who live and work in the Mile Cross area of Norwich working
for the collective good of people and nature.
The group is making a real difference in previously unloved public greenspaces and in turn
this is forging friendships and creating a real sense of pride and belonging. They have
planted orchards, started community gardens, built raised beds to grow nutritious food for
the community, planted spring bulbs and created wildflower patches. These have become
thriving green corridors and areas of refuge for people and nature.
Mile Cross Green Hearts shows that nature recovery can only happen with community recovery.
As Lee Cozen’s, project lead from Norfolk Wildlife Trust explains:
‘Everyone is welcome. Everyone has something valuable to offer. Everyone belongs. It is a
privilege to see this transformation happen on the ground.’
GREEN FILM FESTIVAL @ UEA
2025
