Urban Permaculture

In his new film, Erwin Wagenhofer is looking for the good and beautiful in this world.

A park keeper is having telepathy with busts of distinguished individuals of Rasht city.

Created over 75 years and three generations, Les Quatre Vents stands as an enchanted place of beauty and surprise, a horticultural masterpiece of the 21st century. See how Frank Cabot gave birth to one of the greatest gardens in the world.

Part of a travelogue series, this films visits to Derry, the Giant’s Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede, Mount Stewart and Belfast.

Inhabit is a feature length documentary introducing permaculture: a design method that offers an ecological lens for solving issues related to agriculture, economics, governance, and on. The film presents a vast array of projects, concepts, and people, and it translates the diversity of permaculture into something that can be understood by an equally diverse audience. For those familiar, it will be a call to action and a glimpse into what's possible - what kind of projects and solutions are already underway. For those unfamiliar, it will be an introduction to a new way of being and a new way of relating to the Earth. For everyone, it will be a reminder that humans are capable of being planetary healing forces.

We’ve all seen environmental problems highlighted everyday on the media. Now comes the solution. From the man who said, “You can solve all the world’s problems in a garden” comes Geoff Lawton’s Permaculture Soils DVD. 137 minutes of Permaculture soil creation strategies that really work! Even if you have never built a garden or got your hands dirty before, you will learn the secrets of real soil creation – partnering with the life in the Soil! Geoff will take you through every step of the process and explain in detail how to do it yourself. From Compost creation to larger Kitchen Gardens and then to broad acre farming – this is the future of biological agriculture.

Sister Loyola is one of the liveliest nonagenarians you could ever meet. As the main gardener at the Home of Compassion in Island Bay, Wellington, her daily tasks include heavy lifting alongside vigorous spade and wheelbarrow work, which she sometimes performs on crutches. Loyola and the other Sisters of Compassion follow the vision of Mother Aubert to ‘meet the needs of the oppressed and powerless in their communities’.

The story of one man's lifelong journey, walking with God and learning how to get back to the simple, productive methods of sustainable provision that were given to man in the garden of Eden.

Voices of the Transition is an enthusiastic documentary on farmers- and community-led responses to food insecurity in a scenario of climate change and peak oil.

Sepp Holzer explains some of the innovative, labour-saving agricultural techniques he applies at his farm in the Eastern Alps of Salzburg, Austria.

Sous les pavés, la Terre !

Environmental film maker John D. Liu documents large-scale ecosystem restoration projects in China, Africa, South America and the Middle East, highlighting the enormous benefits for people and planet of undertaking these efforts globally.

An intimate portrait of an old man coming to terms with own mortality and letting go off his magnum opus - his garden. Living through an autumn of his life, he reminisces about his life filled with hard work, love for nature and onions.

From the Black Earth is a collaboration between Bristol based company Cables and Cameras, and a local farmer Humphrey Lloyd. Employing both lucid speakers and poetic camera work, the film poses stark questions such as; why does food poverty exist in a nation of plenty, and why are people of colour so under represented not only in our countryside and farms, but in the environmental movement more broadly? By giving a platform to people of colour who are connecting with nature and working the land, this short documentary starts to unpick these questions...

In this introductory video to permaculture, Bill Mollison, the movement’s co-founder, takes the viewer through the history and developments of the movement. With startlingly laconic humor and insight he deconstructs the modern agribusiness and the “modern plague” : manicured ornamental lawns. In this video he offers an antidote, which is an antidote to both our currently unsustainable practices and our unsustainable culture. Both of these have to change and adapt. Permanently.

Hart's Forest Gardening introduces a way of working alongside nature- an approach that results in great productivity with minimal maintenance, and a method for transforming even a small cottage garden into a diverse and inviting habitat for songbirds, butterflies, and other wildlife. Based on the model of a natural woodland, a forest garden incorporates a wide variety of useful plants, including fruit and nut trees, perennial herbs, and vegetables. Robert Hart blends history, philosophy, anthropology, and seasonal gardening wisdom, which together comprise a remarkable testament to the pleasures of "hands-off" as well as hands-on gardening. Practical features include: Design guidelines for creating your own perennial food-producing garden Lists of recommended plants and varieties, An explanation of how plants in different levels or "stories" --from ground covers to full-sized trees--coexist and interact in a healthy and productive landscape.

Permaculture teacher Geoff Lawton designs and builds a dam and water harvesting system on a farm.

This feature-length educational film teaches you how to set up your own permaculture orchard at virtually any scale. We recognize the limitations of the organic model as a substitute to conventional fruit growing, and want to propose a more holistic, regenerative approach based on permaculture principles. Based on 20 years of applied theory and trial and error, biologist and educator Stefan Sobkowiak shares his experience transforming a conventional apple orchard into an abundance of biodiversity that virtually takes care of itself. The concepts, techniques and tips presented in this film will help you with your own project, whether it is just a few fruit trees in your urban backyard, or a full-scale multi-acre commercial orchard.

Following Ontario farmer John Gorzo Jr. from the spring planting through the fall harvest this stark, intimate film strips away our bucolic fantasies and reveals how incredibly hard farmers work to produce the food we eat. As Gorzo struggles with unpredictable weather, globalized markets and rocky finances, we marvel at his perseverance in the face of such uncertain gain. “As the months went by, we clearly could see the strain on John’s face,” says director Paul Eichhorn. “It really offers viewers the chance to see first-hand the challenges facing farmers today.”

Three young gardeners reflect on their experiences at a Leeds allotment.