It takes palce in a picturesque landscape of the village of Ditchling in Eastern Sussex, where Holland has been living for a while and, in his journalistic style, recording the farmers strongly affected by the crisis in agriculture and the anti-fox-hunting campaign. The film also depicts the tension between the director and his protagonist, farmer and hunter Gary Lee. Lee ‘greets’ him with the words: ‘Turn the bloody camera off!’ Despite this, incredibly persistent and resolute Holland never turned his camera off – not even when Gary was driving the tractor, feeding the dogs, taking care of the calves and lambs – all this in the company of the hordes of local children. During shooting of this film, the bill banning fox-hunt was being voted in the Parliament (it was enacted in early 2005). Hunters were revolted, because, in their opinion, the ban was abolishing an entire way of life.
Luke Holland, a director and producer, lives in the village of Ditchling. He has made the documentaries ‘Good Morning Mr. Hitler’ (1994) and ‘I Was a Slave Labourer’ (2000.)
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A Very English Village: Going for the Kill
Great Britain
2005, 88', color, video
Directed by:
Luke Holland
Cinematography:
Luke Holland
Edited by:
Edward Roberts
Music:
Richard Durant
Producer:
Luke Holland
Produced by:
ZFF Productions, BBC