Filmmaker David Bond grew up in the countryside but now lives in the city. He is stuck in the digital world. During a rare countryside trip he noticed a huge change in his family. They stopped worrying – about emails, about clothes and about TV – and looked happy. Are they deprived of nature? Do they have Nature Deficit Disorder? Leaving his anxious life behind, David goes searching for people living in harmony with their environment. His encounters shed light on our relationship with our environment, and he discovers what we can do to get back to the bosom of Mother Nature.
What happens when we forget we are natural animals? In Project Wild Thing filmmaker David Bond takes a road trip into the natural world to untangle the complex web of agendas, fears, policies and habits that disconnect him and his family from their natural environment. Synopsis Over half the world now lives in cities. Filmmaker David Bond grew up in the countryside but now lives in the big city and he loves it. He is knee-deep in the digital world, constantly checking his Blackberry, consuming media 24/7. He has beaten nature. But following a rare trip to the countryside he was horrified to noticed a change in his and his children's behaviour. They stopped worrying - about emails, about what they were wearing and when their favourite TV show was on - and began to enjoy their natural surroundings. What has city living done to his family? Is the countryside really a better place for them to grow up happy? His carefree childhood was very different from theirs. David enlists his family - his wife Katie and children Ivy (4) and Albie (2) along with his mother, Helen. They agree to test the effect that their life, separated from nature, is having on them. Helen has recently moved from remote North Yorkshire to live with them in London. She is about to turn 80 and has seen a massive change in children's lives since her own childhood. How has her behaviour changed since moving to the city? How will David's children's behaviour change, as he and Katie understand better the scientific arguments for and against nature in childhood? David is turning 40. His family represents three generations - and their changing relationship to nature. David investigates the scientific basis for the changes in his family's behaviour. Project Wild Thing is a road trip, finding hilarity, joy and absurdity in the choices we face as 21st Century humans: What happens when we forget we are natural animals? Should we buy into the convenience of digital life, or should we believe in the power of nature? Is this a choice we have to make at all? Can we find a way to get the best of both? The narrative journey David's journey will take him on a visual expedition throughout the UK and beyond in an attempt to understand his relationship with nature. The journey structure will allow us to incorporate some of the important scientific studies, and bring their findings to life. The scientists David meets offer him evidence and advice on his journey. David's ultimate aim is to understand the role of nature in his and his family's lives. Will he discover that city life is ruining his kids, and be forced to radically alter his lifestyle? The will-he-won't-he element of the film will drive the narrative, along with the engaging characters David meets, and the fascinating evidence he uncovers.
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