Between the 12th and the 19th century, British common land was enclosed and made private, depriving
commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. As a result, only 8 per cent of English land remains open to the public today. A recent supreme court case from Darwall, a wealthy landowner, petitions for even further restrictions on access to Dartmoor National Park. This has triggered a resurgence in the Right to Roam movement.
Subverting the Guy Fawkes tradition of burning effigies, Lucy works with children to co-create life-size effigies commemorating four key activists involved in the movement. They pull together past and present stories of land struggle, to provide a tangible and immersive understanding of an alternative political history. The film is a rallying call for action to challenge colonial notions of land ownership, and defend our right to roam.
Made in collaboration with the Woodcraft Folk. Archival material from Open Spaces Society,
Manchester Jewish Museum and North West Sound Heritage. Interviews with Maggie Fyffe and Kate Ashbrook. Photography by Sia Thomas. Sound Design by Mathis Marsepoil.