addicted to sheep · 2 film trailer embed code and location filming images . .. media contact:...

www.addictedtosheep.com

Media contact: David Roberts, +44 (0) 1642 342947, [email protected]

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ADDICTED TO SHEEP

An indie debut feature-length documentary by Magali Pettier

Runtime: 85 minutes UK Release date tbc

Media contact: David Roberts

+44 (0) 1642 342947, [email protected]



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Addicted to Sheep One family’s quest to breed the perfect sheep Synopsis Addicted to Sheep charts a year in the life of a tenant hill farmer and his family as they try to breed the perfect sheep. Through the rain, shine, sleet and snow we see them toil away against the stunning landscapes of North East England and witness the hard work and good humour that binds this remote community together. Beautifully observed and laugh-out-loud funny, this heartwarming film provides an insight into the past, present and future of a way of life far removed from the high-tech hustle and bustle of modern life. Trailer

http://www.addictedtosheep.com/trailer/



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It’s hard, it’s long hours in all weathers, it’s total commitment for little financial return. Why would

anyone want to be a hill farmer, and a tenant farmer at that, these days…

In this Pack: -‐ Addicted to Sheep: the film and its context -‐ Q&A with director Magali Pettier -‐ Film Credits & Key Biographies -‐ What supporters of the film say -‐ Film Trailer embed code and location filming images



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Addicted to Sheep: The film and its context

An intimate portrait of long, hard work in all weathers, everyday life and total commitment for a

hill-farming family, Addicted to Sheep is the outcome of a quest.

Film-maker Magali Pettier began by asking why would anyone want to keep sheep by choice in

the High Pennines of the North of England. Why opt into being a tenant farmer, for little financial

return and uncertain long-term prospects? Her film depicts the challenges, stress and relentless

toil, and it also highlights the joys, the sense of purpose and the fulfilment in caring for animals

and the environment.

It is a timely documentary from the rural edge of modern society. It reveals an inner reality of

Britain’s heritage, behind the aesthetic and sentimental appreciation of the countryside.

Consumers rarely see the people beyond the landscape, the food we eat or the clothes we wear.

This is an opportunity to bridge that disconnection.

The film-maker

Magali Pettier is from a third generation farming family in France and she knows life can be tough

for small farmers anywhere. They rarely take holidays, they worry about cash-flow and they cope

with all the uncertainties of the weather. As a film-maker, now living and working in North-East

England, Magali was drawn to the world of tenant hill farmers and decided to look into their little-

known way of life.

Her initial idea was to film both in the Pennines and Brittany, contrasting the experiences of

different families across a year, but she found that the pull of Upper Teesdale took over

completely. Her inspiration also came from two award-winning French documentaries: Etre et

Avoir Nicolas Philibert’s film about a small village school and La Vie Moderne, the Raymond

Depardon study of life in the remote countryside.

Over 18 months she filmed the day-to-day lives of the Hutchinson family and their three school-

age children, farming near Middleton-in-Teesdale on the Raby Estate, 1300 feet above sea-level

in County Durham. It’s not a ‘celebrity farmer’ treatment but an authentic portrayal, with a quiet

observational style, of a typical family and their personal story.



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As an independent film-maker with a farming background, Magali has invested knowledge,

experience, time, care and dedication to making such an honest portrait. Nothing was staged for

the camera, all the action took place as and when it was needed for the running of the farm.

[see also Page 8 - the Q&A with Magali Pettier]

The hill-farmers & the sheep

The farm in the film lies in an area of outstanding natural beauty but it also has significant levels

of social and economic disadvantage. The average age of a farmer is 60. The average income

during filming was £12,600 a year. There is a growing decline of young people who opt for a

career in agriculture. But there are champions for this way of life. The Prince of Wales is among

those who are keen to ensure the sustainability of small hill farmers, their communities and their

livestock. The sheep in the film are Swaledales, and the farmer’s ultimate goal is to keep

producing an ever-improving specimen of Swaledale.

Magali was put in touch with the family by UTASS, the Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support

Services. Tom, the farmer in the film has been there for nearly a decade. He says that his

addiction to Swaledale sheep is the worst affliction known to man. His grandfather – but not his

father – ran a farm, and after helping out as a child, Tom realised there was nothing else he

wanted to do. Swaledales are hardy, easier and cheaper to keep and feed than lowland sheep,

and their wool is strong and tight, but in the modern world it is not popular for clothing. There is

some demand for carpets and other longer-wearing products, but it does not fetch a good price. It

costs a farmer more to shear his sheep than he gets paid for the wool. Hill-farmers like the

challenge.

Shooting the film

To begin with, Magali spent time with the family discussing the project. They got to know one

another, built up trust, and the children did mock interviews with the camera so that they all got

used to having the equipment around. Magali then filmed them at work and play on the 38

hectares farm over the seasons. She took her camera among the sheep, who spend most of their

year out on the fell, and the family’s small herd of pedigree cattle. She also recorded scenes in

the wider community including the children at the School, the Langdon Beck Sheep Show and the

clipping season beyond the Estate, since Tom has to top-up his income by shearing, and also

helping out at lambing-time, on other farms.



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The film takes in the rough and the smooth of farm-life just as it comes, including such set-backs

as still-born lambs and a troublesome gate-hanging job. Magali’s work has a quiet observational

style, with no ‘celebrity farmer’ element.

The result is a beautiful immersive film taking its audience into a world they cannot normally

witness up close. It captures seasonal changes of landscape and weather and the work involved

in producing high quality livestock all year round.

Backing for the film

This is Magali’s first feature-length documentary. She took her concept, along with her own

insight, passion and vision, to a competitive pitch at the UK’s premiere documentary festival, the

Sheffield Independent Documentary Film Festival, where she captured funding from Northern

Film and Media towards filming.

The film industry has also recognised the quality and ambition of Addicted to Sheep, including

early endorsements from the makers of The Moo Man, a UK doc that was the surprise hit at the

2013 Sundance Film Festival and from Emmy Award-winning Patrick Collerton, director of The

Boy Whose Skin Fell Off, who has praised the cinematography.

The post-production phase

Filmed in 2010/11 funding for the post-production phase proved scarce, especially for a debut

feature. In 2012, Jan Cawood of Tin Man Films came on board as a Producer and together they

reviewed the footage to get a feel for the potential of the film in terms of story, audience and

funding options. They met with potential stakeholders to gather their support in terms of funding

and audience development and also enlisted the early support of Matt Dennis, a very experienced

Editor who was passionate about the project. Together they produced an initial 12 hours rough

cut and a few months later, finally had an 85 minutes long feature documentary. Alongside this,

they also did a successful crowd funding campaign and gained the support of award winning

associates, Chris Watson and James Burrell who provided additional sounds and original music

for the final film.

They are now holding a small number of regional ‘sneak previews’ for those who have supported

the film and are busy entering the film into international festivals and exploring distribution

avenues.



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See also section on Endorsements – page 14

The reasons for making the film

Addicted to Sheep aims to:

• Create a sense of empowerment and pride within hill farming communities in the North

East of England with a small number of regional ‘sneak previews’.

• Raise awareness of the realities of hill farming life across wider rural and urban

environments by sharing the film at relevant venues.

• Give a voice to people who are often marginalised – especially children on film.

• Reach a national and international audience via high profile film festivals and possibly TV

after that.

Further information and links

Contact Magali Pettier (www.provenancefilms.com) / [email protected] / M: +44 (0) 7817 918038

Donations or other help

Anyone who would like to support the distribution phase of the film can donate online via the film’s

website. The link for the donate page is www.addictedtosheep.com/supportus/ or contact Magali

direct to discuss the project further [email protected]

How to follow the project

People can follow the film’s progress online and join the mailing list at www.addictedtosheep.com

To view a trailer: www.addictedtosheep.com/trailer To embed the trailer, please use the following embed code:

<iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/109492001" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0"

webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>

To follow on twitter and facebook: www.twitter.com/addictedtosheep #addictedtosheep

and www.facebook.com/addictedtosheep



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Q&A with film-maker Magali Pettier What engages you as a film-maker and photographer?

I love observing the simple moments of everyday life. Through filmmaking and photography I try

to portray people who often go unnoticed. That includes people in ‘hidden’ occupations. Before

filming a hill farming family in North East England, I have done documentary shoots in a Scottish

monastery and factory workers and craftsmen on Tyneside.

How do you approach your subjects?

I had no background in photography before training for a BA (Hons) Photography, Video and

Digital Imaging. I’m quite shy but because of my camera I feel I can approach anyone. But before

taking pictures or shooting film, I always meet people without the equipment. We talk, I listen, and

begin to understand their situation. People can be suspicious of cameras and find it difficult to be

natural. To some people, it can look as if we are just being voyeurs. But pictures and film promote

understanding about the experiences of other people and the issues involved. It gives the

unnoticed a chance to be seen. I like a story to be authentic, and no story can be told better than

by the person who lived it.

The film is called ‘Addicted to Sheep’ - What drew you to hill farmers and sheep, and how did you find this particular farm?

I am from a farming family in France. My parents are now retired but they kept dairy cows on low

pasture, and I was looking for a contrast. In France although farmers may rent a few extra plots of

land the majority own their farm and tenant farming is a practice that is long gone. So I wondered

why would anyone want to be a hill farmer, and a tenant farmer at that, these days? If you look at

hill-farming, most of the stock is sheep, and the family I filmed are dedicated to one particular

breed, Swaledales, with an ambition to breed the best stock they can through each generation. I was put in touch with the family by UTASS (Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services).

As a non-British person filming Pennine hill farmers, what can you say about your perspective?

I love walking, and I think the hills are full of surprises. It rains one minute and it shines the next.

The difference from lowland farms is that in the hills you really feel closer to nature.



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The constant change and uncertainty in a place where, to a walker, nothing seems to be

happening, fascinates me. A lot of visitors walk or cycle through the landscape but rarely stop for

long enough to think about the people behind the landscape. I think living in the countryside can

be great, but living off the land can be very tough. The future viability of small farms seems

dependent on so many issues beyond an individual’s control which can be hard to manage.

Despite the issues living in the beauty of landscapes and being grateful for what you have is one

of the aspects our family try to achieve and we admire that a lot.

How did you achieve such intimate moments with the characters and families in the film?

It all comes down to trust. Being from a farming background, I could really understand when to

observe and when to react to what they were doing. I was there as an observer and not an

interrogator which relaxed the atmosphere too. I stayed mostly with the family when I went to film

and for the first 9 months I had no crew, which meant they got used to me. I made sure I filmed in

a non-intrusive way. My rule was to spend at least a day with the family working on the farm

before starting filming. This way I could understand their routine and subsequently film in a non-

intrusive way, or at least as much as possible. In the beginning, to make the children more

comfortable with the camera, we did little interviews which they conducted. I also showed them

what could be done with the camera. It then became more like a game and they became very

good at ignoring the camera.

How challenging were the locations?

Well, the locations are remote, in Upper Teesdale, and I filmed over 18 months, through all

seasons, but all seemed to be winter to me. I filmed in an area designated as an Area of

Outstanding Natural Beauty. The landscape and the weather make beautiful images, but

handling a camera in rain and snow is not easy and testing at times. Walking backwards on

hillsides or rough ground while filming can also be hazardous. I fell over several times, naturally

ending the take, which amused the family. I also had my first attempt at shearing a sheep which

was filmed and I learnt what was involved by watching and sometimes doing.

The film has a very distinct aesthetic that captures both the intimacy of the characters’ relationships and the vastness of the landscape -- how was this achieved?

The whole location screams tradition and that’s the way I wanted to keep it. The chipped walls

and light creeping through the windows, the broken windows, were all filmed to represent the

realities of a living farm, some things break, some things change and others remain. I didn’t want



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to tamper with the beauty that was already there, I just had to make sure it was captured in the

right light. Sometimes it was pure chance, and sometimes it was waiting for hours and coming

back again and again for the right shot. The camera I used allowed me to move fast if I had to but

also allowed me to capture the personality of the place and the people throughout the seasons.

For example, one favourite is feeling the elements from the inside such as being in an

atmospheric old barn where Tom feeds the sheep, yet hearing the wind blowing through the

panels.

And have you found the answer to “why be a hill-farmer?”

The family explain that in the film. They are very good at describing their own experiences, what

drew them in, what keeps them at it. Tom and Kay joked that they were both attracted to

waterproof clothing, and Tom says that his addiction to Swaledale sheep is the worst affliction

known to man. He was drawn to farming as a child, when he helped on his grandfather’s farm.

His father is not a farmer, but for Tom there could never be anything else. As Kay says ‘you have

to want to do it’.



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Addicted to Sheep Film Credits

Filmed and Directed by Magali Pettier

Editor Matt Dennis

Producers Jan Cawood & Magali Pettier

Sound Recording Steve Lee & Hugh Sherlock

Additional Sounds Chris Watson

Composer James Burrell

Dubbing Mixer Nigel Crooks

Key biographies

Addicted to Sheep is a team effort and couldn’t have been made without the help of a very

dedicated and talented team.

Magali Pettier, Director / Producer of Addicted to Sheep

Magali is the founder and Director of Provenance

Films. She has over 10 years experience as a

photographer, camera operator and self-shooting

Director/Producer and has been commissioned to

produce, direct and film numerous short

documentaries and dramas for educational purposes,

multi-media exhibitions and brands.

Originally from Brittany and now based in the North

East of England, her work has taken her to many

countries such as Singapore, Nepal and

The Philippines as well as France and Ireland. She also worked as Lead Artist on participatory

projects, during which, two books 'I see, you don't see' and 'A Day In Our Lives', were published.



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Addicted to Sheep is her debut indie feature length documentary about a tenant hill farming family

who live 1300 feet above sea level in the North Pennines. A beautifully shot observational film

which captures one family’s quest to try breed the perfect sheep.

Her favourite documentary is The Story of the Weeping Camel by Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi

Falorni.

Jan Cawood, Producer of Addicted to Sheep

Jan is a creative producer and director whose love of

cinematic aesthetics and visual storytelling were

fuelled by her BA (Hons) degree in the History of Art,

Design & Film. With over 10 years industry experience

in corporate PR and marketing, she recently founded

Tin Man Films where she combines her twin passions

of creative producing with audience development and

distribution.

She has produced and directed several short films for

TV, festivals and brands. Her beautiful short film 55

Seconds about a Victorian seaside lift which reveled in both the mechanical ballet of the lift and

the lives that come together in its short journeys was a prize winner at Open City Docs and

screened at Sheffield Documentary Festival.

She co-directed and co-produced a short documentary about Barbour jackets ‘A Jacket for Life’

with Magali Pettier which captures people’s emotional attachment to their 30 year old coats. The

film has been endorsed by some of the world’s leading style bloggers and received over 100,000

hits.

Jan has recently produced her first major feature length film, Addicted to Sheep by debut director

Magali Pettier. This beautifully shot observational documentary, which charts a year in the life of a

hill-farming family as they try to breed the perfect sheep, has been widely praised for the passion

and integrity with which this 4 year independent production has been crafted and developed.



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Following a successful crowd funding campaign in 2014 Addicted to Sheep is now being

submitted to high profile international film festivals for a world premiere.

Her favourite documentary is Grey Gardens by the Maysles Brothers.

Matthew Dennis, Editor of Addicted to Sheep

After completing a degree in Fine Art, Matt Dennis

began splicing film at the BBC. In his time there, he

worked on many documentary feature programmes

such as Horizon, QED and Arena as an Assistant

Editor and later as a Dubbing Editor on a number of

BBC dramas (including being part of the BAFTA

nominated sound team for the 6 part adaptation of

George Elliott's Middlemarch). Around this time he

also had the opportunity to edit the multi-award

winning animated documentary A Is For Autism

commissioned by Channel 4.

After a period of freelancing as an editor Matt started working for the London based creative

agency Bruce Dunlop and Associates as a Promotions Producer, and went on to head up the

team making all the onscreen promotions, graphics, idents and cross channel promotions for the

Hallmark Channel in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Asia. He has extensive experience of

making promotions and film trailers for channels such as Nickelodeon, Discovery, National

Geographic and U>Direct.

He was also a Visiting Lecturer at the Royal College of Art, working with post-graduate animation

students and this inspired him to pursue teaching as a parallel career. He now works part time at

Teesside University with undergraduate Film and Television students, running editing, post

production and documentary workshops. In addition he continues to work as a Freelance Editor

and regularly works for the Inverness based production company Triple Echo Productions editing

documentaries and documentary feature specials for BBC Scotland. He has worked with Magali

and Jan on many of their recent projects and most recently has completed the edit of the feature

length observational documentary Addicted to Sheep.

His favourite documentary is Etre et Avoir by Nicolas Philibert.



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Endorsements for Addicted to Sheep: what supporters say... Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services

- who brought film-maker and the farming family together

<< UTASS is a community led organisation which provides support services for farmers, their

families and the wider community of Teesdale, combating stress, isolation and poverty. We aim to

prevent problems from getting to the desperate stage. Addicted to Sheep is a sensitive and

spellbinding portrayal of the day to day world of an ordinary farming family and their exceptional

way of life. The footage tells a remarkable story that, for most people, will be utterly surprising and

beyond their knowledge and experience. The film, will offer fundamental insights into this isolated

way of life and help to raise understanding and awareness of the essential role hill-farmers play in

our national life. This film will rightly celebrate their character and commitment. >>

- Lucy Jenkins, Project Officer, UTASS

Friends of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

- who work to promote awareness of the area’s special qualities << We are delighted to give whole-hearted support to Addicted to Sheep. We feel sure that this

film will help everyone who sees it appreciate the spectacular beauty of our landscape, and,

equally important, how resourceful are the people who make a living here. The commitment of the

film team to producing the most heartfelt and authentic documentary, their professionalism in all

they are doing, coupled with their sympathy for and understanding of the tenant hill-farmer shines

through and is a privilege to see. >>

- Ian Forbes MBE, Chairman, Friends of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and European Geopark

Helen Goodman MP Shadow Minister for Culture, Media and Sport

- whose constituency includes Upper Teesdale << The film project has identified some of the challenges faced by the hill-farmers in my

constituency. This project has the potential to show people the difficulties the upland farmers

face, both with the rugged terrain they farm, and also the economic hardships. I fully support the

project and feel that when the film is completed, it will tell a great story which will raise the profile

of sheep-farming in Teesdale and other areas. >>



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Further information and links

Magali Pettier (www.provenancefilms.com) / [email protected] / M: +44 (0) 7817 918038

Donations or other help

Anyone who would like to support the distribution phase of the film can donate online via the film’s

website. The link for the donate page is www.addictedtosheep.com/supportus/ or contact Magali

direct to discuss the project further [email protected].

How to follow the project

People can follow the film’s progress online and join the mailing list at www.addictedtosheep.com

To view a trailer: www.addictedtosheep.com/trailer To embed the trailer, please use the following embed code:

<iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/109492001" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0"

webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>

To follow on twitter and facebook: www.twitter.com/addictedtosheep, #addictedtosheep

and www.facebook.com/addictedtosheep



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Images

These are just some of the images (screen grabs and stills) captured by Magali Pettier over the 18 months she spent filming at the farm in Upper Teesdale. If you would like higher resolution images please contact Magali Pettier (see contact details above). Please note only images we provide can be used of Swaledale Sheep (no library pictures to be used).

Caption: Magali Pettier, who filmed and directed Addicted to Sheep #addictedtosheep



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Caption: L-R, Magali Pettier and Jan Cawood who produced Addicted to Sheep #addictedtosheep

Caption: location filming in the North Pennines for Addicted to Sheep #addictedtosheep



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Caption: still of filming location for Addicted to Sheep in the North Pennines designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty #addictedtosheep



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Caption: Kay Hutchinson filmed on location in Upper Teesdale for Addicted to Sheep #addictedtosheep

Caption: Tom Hutchinson filmed on location in Upper Teesdale for Addicted to Sheep #addictedtosheep



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Caption: Still of Esme Hutchinson on filming location in Upper Teesdale for Addicted to Sheep #addictedtosheep



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Caption: Jack Hutchinson filmed on location in Upper Teesdale for Addicted to Sheep #addictedtosheep

Caption: Hetty Hutchinson filmed on location in Upper Teesdale for Addicted to Sheep #addictedtosheep



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Caption: picture taken by Kay Hutchinson during the production phase of Addicted to Sheep

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