Decommissioning the Twentieth Century artist commission
Fawley Film is an award-winning documentary project created as part of Decommissioning the Twentieth Century. In 2022, Fawley received Best Short Film in the International Short Film Competition at Sheffield Doc-Fest.
The film focuses on the closure and transformation of Fawley Power Station on the south coast of England. Through interviews, archival material, landscape imagery and sound, it captures the layered stories surrounding the site — its working life, its decline and its uncertain future.
Fawley Film explores how power stations shape communities as employers, landmarks and backdrops to everyday life, and what it means when such a dominant presence is dismantled. Workers, local residents and others connected to the site reflect on their experiences, revealing a complex mix of nostalgia, loss, environmental concern and curiosity about what comes next.
By documenting both physical changes to the landscape and the emotional responses of those affected, the film raises key questions:
What do we choose to remember about sites like Fawley?
How can decommissioned energy landscapes be re-imagined in ways that respect people and place?
Who has a say in shaping the future of these spaces?
The film contributes to wider conversations about energy, heritage and climate transition, using moving image to hold a moment of transformation open for public reflection.
Further reading
Fawley Film is a case study within the multi-site Decommissioning the Twentieth Century project. For a comprehensive overview of the research and creative responses across all participating sites, see Creative Decommissioning (PDF, 31 May 2022) by Professor Ceri Morgan and colleagues.
Additional context and screening information can be found on the Fawley Film website.