Jacob Cartwright & Nick Jordan
The Unofficial Countryside | 17.17 mins | 2021 | HDV

The Unofficial Countryside is an observational documentary portrait of the ‘edgeland’ landscapes that exist between the urban and the rural. Titled after naturalist Richard Mabey’s seminal book, the film documents the intrinsic characteristics of these places, where nature thrives on the fringes of the city. Filmed on the outskirts of Manchester (UK), in a patchwork of urban woodland, ramshackle smallholdings, abandoned industrial sites, utility substations, scrapyards, open fields and riverside beaches, the documentary includes a voiceover drawn from Marion Shoard’s essay ‘Edgelands of Promise’, and captures the rich biodiversity of both native and introduced species, in a landscape shaped by the activities and imprints of people passing through.

The Unofficial Countryside / stills, 2021

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