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Beneath the Decay

As an emerging art historian, Victoria Jenner asks how she can make art and architecture more accessible for everyone. This film documents her journey into the wild exploration of abandoned structures and looks at accessibility in a variety of forms. Whether that be access to derelict buildings that have been reclaimed by nature but by no explicit authority, to the realisation that engaging with historic structures has become an academic preoccupation. Join Victoria as she travels beyond the realms of books and into decaying structures, abandoned and reclaimed by the wilderness.

  • Victoria Jenner
    Director
  • Russell Barnett
    Director
  • Victoria Jenner
    Writer
  • Katie Ray
    Writer
  • Victoria Jenner
    Producer
  • Magdalena Paczocha
    Producer
  • Kayleigh Parks
    Interviews
  • Emily Conrad
    Interviews
  • Seb Penson
    Interviews
  • Ryan Neale
    Interviews
  • Daniel Gaston
    Interviews
  • Lewis Cooper
    Interviews
  • Robin Daly
    Interviews
  • Jo Esra
    Interviews
  • Waddesdon Manor, National Trust
    Locations
  • Horsebridge Mill, East Sussex
    Locations
  • Denbigh Hospital, Wales
    Locations
  • University of Exeter, Penryn Campus
    Locations
  • St. Paul's Cathedral's Gardens, London
    Locations
  • Nerys Grivolas
    Music and Sound
  • Craig Brown
    Music and Sound
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    18 minutes 38 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 6, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    500 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital h.264
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Victoria Jenner, Russell Barnett

Russell is a self-shooting director and editor who makes films about wildlife and adventure sports. He enjoys 'run and gun' film-making on a tight budget and works as a Researcher for the BBC Natural History Channel.

Victoria is a digital art historian for the National Trust and a Research Fellow at the University of Exeter. She has a passion for the outdoors and bringing the historic landscape to life through multimedia. She has started to present a Live Facebook Series for the National Trust, has appeared on television and has recently produced, written and presented a new series on the maritime culture of Cornwall.

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Director Statement

'Beneath the Decay' captures the fascination society has had with the ruinous nature of buildings for hundreds of years. The state of dereliction is beautiful, yet it is the reclaiming of a man-made structure by nature which makes it truly unique. This film challenges whether the practice of urban exploring, or urbex, is as dangerous and criminal as it is considered by those in authority and historic conservation. We wanted to capture the passion for the practice, and really try to understand why the urbex community is so strong, despite controversial feeling against it. Ultimately, we wanted to explore the historic natural world as it is today, before developers remove these landmarks forever. This is a film that captures the intermingling of the man-made and the natural, and questions whether they should be vessels of learning for those marginalised by elitist cultural practices in the art history sector.