Farming (film)

Farming is a 2018 British film written and directed by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, based on his own childhood. The plot is about a child whose Yorubá parents give him to a white working-class family in London in the 1980s, and who grows up to join a white skinhead gang led by a white supremacist.

The film, which stars Damson Idris, Kate Beckinsale, John Dagleish, Jaime Winstone, Genevieve Nnaji, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, wrapped production in 2017. It premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival on 8 September and won the Michael Powell Award at the 2019 Edinburgh Film Festival. The film was released by Lionsgate on 11 October 2019 in the UK and by eOne on 25 October 2019 in the US.

Cast

 * Damson Idris as Enitan
 * Kate Beckinsale as Ingrid Carpenter
 * Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Femi
 * John Dagleish as Levi
 * Jaime Winstone as Lynn
 * Genevieve Nnaji as Tolu
 * Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Ms. Dapo
 * Cosmo Jarvis as Jonesy
 * Ann Mitchell as Hilda
 * Tom Canton as Bomber
 * Theodore Barklem-Biggs as Scum
 * Robert Maskell as Headmaster
 * Amariah Nkwo as Madame
 * Seun Shote as Mallam
 * Jubilee Jonathan-Nwala as Yemi
 * Adewale Akinnuoye-Abaje as Femi
 * Michael Akinsulire ass Nigerian Teacher
 * Leke Adebayo as Alahgi
 * Ademola Adedoyin as Paddy
 * Adejola Adeyemi as Monday

Release
Farming premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival on 8 September in the Discovery Section. The film won the Michael Powell Award at the 2019 Edinburgh Film Festival. On 17 September 2018, the film's distribution rights were purchased for several countries and regions: the United Kingdom, France, Benelux, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, South Korea, China, Greece, Portugal, Serbia, Montenegro, Singapore, the Middle East, and Turkey. Lionsgate UK released the film in the United Kingdom on 11 October 2019, followed by a United States release on 25 October.

Production
Production visited two Kent locations in Farming. At the first, The Historic Dockyard Chatham, various areas such as at The Joiner’s Shop, House Carpenters Shop, and the rear of The Smithery, Ropery and Anchor Wharf were used. Production also visited a jewellery shop in Gillingham for some further scenes.

Reception
The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported approval rating based on  reviews, with an average score of. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average of 51 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Screen Daily wrote of the film, “Actor turned director Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje makes an arresting feature debut with Farming. Told with raw emotion and lurid violence, it transforms elements of his life story into a disturbing, eye-opening coming of age drama.”