Zan Barberton, a documentary cinematographer and director has spent the last year trying to capture the magic of city farms in London. In a beautiful 26 minute documentary, Zan has shown the incredible stories and people that keep these farms alive and such an important part of the community.
Last year when Hackney Laces was volunteering at Hackney City Farm we met Emma. Emma was a 16 year-old girl who had been kicked out of school and was part of the pupil referral unit at the farm. When you’re not in a formal school environment, you lose access to extra curriculars like sports. One of the farm managers approached us and asked if we’d let Emma into our squad as she loves football. We said of course and she’s been with us ever since.
The film officially launched last night at the Soho Hotel and a group of the Laces coaches attended to support Emma. We all left super proud and really grateful of city farms. As one man on the panel said, ‘children come to the farm for the animals and end up staying for the people’. The community of people around Hackney City Farm helped us find Emma. And we’d be lost without her – our fierce central midfielder.