Sheepa Miah reviews a secret “farmyard” screening of Unbranded.
Secret Adventures put on a one of a kind cinema experience for an award winning film, Unbranded, and I had the pleasure of going along to the the viewing. Located in a city farm located in one of the most unexpected places, you would never have guessed that you were in the heart of Waterloo.
There was a nice smell of the burning wood fire in the air, with people happily chatting, eating and drinking before the start of the film. On one side you had a few farm animals and a little allotment full of vegetables, and on the other side there was a BBQ, small bar and barn; all set up and ready for the film screening.
Going into this, I didn’t know what to expect, but by the end of it, I can honestly say I was blown away by how good it was! Combining the great use of time-lapses, slow motion and close up shots, it was evident that the cinematography was of really high quality. It completely made all my doubts disappear, but most importantly, the story they were trying to tell came through strong, and they really took the viewers along on the journey with them. The soundtrack was also perfectly matched and brought the whole thing to life.
The story was about a group of friends taking on the the challenge of taming and riding wild horses from Mexico to Canada, border to border, over the course of several months, whilst facing some extreme terrains and weather. Spoiler alert – they survived the rain, shine and storms, as well as all the frustrating obstacles. The documentary style film had the perfect formula to keep viewers engaged – a story about friendship, bravery, humour and some real emotional moments.
What stood out for me was what they took away from the trip; that it’s more important to conserve what we have right now, than to accumulate all of these meaningless things. And in the process of entertaining in the form of this film, they also brought attention to a cause close to their hearts – the ongoing issue of controlling the wild horse population in the US.
I don’t want to give too much away, because I honestly would love for more people to watch the film, but there were so many moments that made me laugh. From all the guys casually reading an interesting selection of books whilst on horseback, to the donkey montage, which got everyone in the audience laughing.
The Farmyard Cinema experience was one of the best London activities I’ve done in a while, all thanks to Secret Adventures.
Check out what other experiences they have coming up at secretadventures.org.
