Disarmingly charming doco about a traditional shepherd and his young woman apprentice as they herd 800 sheep, several dogs and donkeys and a criminally cute puppy across hundreds of miles of wintry Swiss countryside.
Hugely engaging… a character portrait of two unconventional social outsiders, and a picture of a trade that most of us probably didn’t know had endured in modern Europe.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2012
Winter Nomads 2012
Hiver nomade
If it weren’t the year’s most charming documentary I’d never try to sell a Swiss film about sheep and shepherds (with a sheepdog called Kiwi) to an audience of New Zealanders.
Standing proud and handsome in a splendid hat that might have been painted by Bruegel, veteran shepherd Pascal Eguisier, along with his earnest, good-humoured young apprentice Carole Noblanc, may be the happiest, most appealingly grounded pair you’ll see on screen at this year’s Festival. They are leading 800 sheep, several dogs and donkeys and a criminally cute puppy across hundreds of miles of wintry Swiss countryside. The four-month trek known as transhumance allows the animals to forage on verges and common ground as they are herded between summer and winter grazing. Not every farmer or local authority whose land they cross is delighted by this centuries-old tradition, but more often the two are welcomed indoors as regular annual dinner guests. The supermarket-deli Christmas dinner they share in their tiny tent may make those who have slaved to provide more lavish festive spreads weep with envy. — BG