The film essay is getting rarer. By that I mean an authored film with a point of view, that doesn’t fit into a neat genre like history or current affairs, and uses the medium of film in a creative or inspiring way. We have a lot to thank Adam Curtis for – the success of his films has opened up to a lot of people the power and the potential of creative film-making. Terence Davies Of Time and The City is another great example, using archive to riff on themes of class, belonging, history and culture. I saw a beautiful film this week that came out of the natural history genre, but was a filmed essay and every bit as good. The Wild Places of Essex was made by the great filmmaker Andrew Graham-Brown, and written and presented by Robert MacFarlane. It popped up in the BBC2 Natural World strand. Robert spent a year visiting the wild and the not so wild, seeing beauty in surprising places, like the falcon over Tilbury Power station;  remembering friends and their passion for the natural world; reflecting on the romance of the never ending landscape, a world that seems to stretch beyond the horizon. For me,  someone who grew up in Essex, it was especially touching. Andrew’s photography was stunning, and Robert’s words were measured and poetic, but always accessible and clear. He exposed a lot of his inner self in the film, and it was all the more moving for it. He reminded me of the great Richard Mabey, a naturalist somehow lost to television. Try and see this lovely film on the BBC IPlayer. And when it’s awards time, let’s try and make sure it gets the recognition it deserves.