Dir. Colin Ramsay
2022 | 96 mins| UK

Six Inches of Soil is a British independent full feature documentary shining a spotlight on soil health and regenerative farming. It tells the inspiring story of young British farmers standing up against the industrial food system and transforming the way they produce food – to heal the soil, our health and provide for local communities. The aims of the film are to sound the alarm on a broken system, but to also give hope that there is a way to fix it; to inspire farmers to adopt agroecological and regenerative farming practices; and to encourage consumers, food corporations and policymakers to support their efforts.

Half the food we eat in the UK is produced by about 180,000 farmers, who manage 70% of our land. Current “industrial” mainstream farming practices significantly contribute to soil degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change. Regenerative farming practices, (within an agroecological system) promote healthier soils, provide healthier, affordable food, restore biodiversity and sequester carbon.

Six Inches of Soil is a story of three new farmers on the first year of their regenerative journey to heal the soil and help transform the food system – Anna Jackson, a Lincolnshire 11th generation arable and sheep farmer; Adrienne Gordon, a Cambridgeshire small-scale vegetable farmer; and Ben Thomas, who rears pasture fed beef cattle in Cornwall.

As the trio of young farmers strive to adopt regenerative practices and create viable businesses, they meet seasoned mentors – John Pawsey in Suffolk, Nic Renison in Cumbria and Marina O’Connell in Devon – who help them on their journey.

They are joined by other experts – Henry Dimbleby, Ian Wilkinson, Mike Berners-Lee, Vicki Hird, Dee Woods, Tim Lang, Hannah Jones, Satish Kumar, Nicole Masters, Tom Pearson – providing wisdom and solutions from a growing movement of people who are dedicated to changing the trajectory for food, farming and the planet.

Showing Times

• Tue 07 May: 6pm

SPRING 2024
(Un)sustainable living

In the spring season we’re thinking about sustainable and unsustainable practices, from how we grow our food and look after the land to how we treat other animals or each other. The season starts with SIX INCHES OF SOIL (April 13th, May 7th), which follows three new UK farmers on their journey to heal the soil and improve the food system through regenerative agriculture. We then move onto CIVET COFFEE: FROM RARE TO RECKLESS (30th April) to explore the impacts of the world’s most expensive coffee on the animals who help to make it. We finish off with THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER (22nd March), which sees a group of Malawian farmers impacted by climate change head to the US to try to persuade producers there that it won’t be long before they start to feel the effects too. There will also be panel discussions and a coffee tasting with no civets involved!

∆ BBFC Rating Details:

Rated 15