Ireland, 2023
Director: Cara Holmes; screenplay: Orla Barry; cinematography: Luca Truffarelli; editing: Mick Mahon, Cara Holmes; music: Verity Susman, Matthew Simms; producers: Cara Holmes, Aideen O’Sullivan, Nuala Cunningham. Irish location: Seafield, Co. Wexford
Running time: 70’
With Orla Barry
Based on the book Shaved Rapunzel, Scheherazade & the Shearing Ram from Arcady by Orla Barry
SYNOPSIS
Orla Barry lived as an artist in Brussels for years until she was forced to return to her roots and come back to Ireland. Needing to make a living she turned to sheep farming, with the hopes of continuing her art on the side. Instead, she discovered the beauty of sheep and developed an ovine obsession. The film covers a year spent on Barry’s farm and examines how unexpectedly the lines between shepherd and artist can be blurred.
DIRECTOR
Cara Holmes is a musician and filmmaker born in Dublin, now a resident of Cork. Her short film Welcome to a Bright White Limbo was made in collaboration with dancer and choreographer Oona Doherty and it won the IFTA Award for Best Short Film in 2020. Her first feature documentary Notes From Sheepland had its international premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in 2023. Awards include Best Documentary at the Dublin International Film Festival 2023 and the Pull Focus Best Irish Feature Documentary at Docs Ireland 2023.