The Badgers
The Badgers
by Xena White and Matthew Feurtado
The Badgers
Video • 20:00 • United Kingdom • English
The Badgers delves into the contentious issue of free-roaming sheep as an ancient but contested tradition of the Forest of Dean, UK. As commercialization encroaches upon the forest and a dearth of younger individuals willing to uphold the tradition emerges, this age-old practice is in jeopardy. Through the perspective of the badgers, the narrative navigates between observation, interviews, and sensory immersion, offering an exploration of the stakes for this community.
Producer and co-director: Xena White.
Cinematographer and co-director: Matthew Feurtado.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS:
Xena Louise Stockley White (she/her) is a multispecies audio-visual anthropologist whose work delves into entangled ecologies—the intricate relationships weaving together humans, non-humans and environments. Her curiosity took root in the Forest of Dean, raised amid a landscape rich with place-based identities. This upbringing sparked her fascination with how places shape people and how people, in turn, craft the stories of those places. Xena believes ethnographic media can capture the emotional and sensory layers of multispecies connections, revealing their significance in the everyday. Her approach underscores the urgent need to share alternative narratives of coexistence, challenging the anthropocentric tales that threaten the planet’s future.
Matty (he/him) is a documentarian and visual artist whose work centres on placemaking in rural communities. Their practice prioritises long-term sensory engagement with people and landscapes, often enabled by a rare level of access. Through this ground-up approach, they explore the everyday impacts of climate change, conflict, displacement, and the material conditions of home. Every project is structured to give back directly to the communities. Their upcoming film Ahweh - investigates the illegal contamination of Afghan civilian bodies resulting from NATO bombing campaigns.
