20th annual deadCenter Film Festival

Give Me Docs or Give Me Death: Journeys

Expired June 22, 2020 4:45 AM
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Every Spring, men and their teams of dogs head into the New Zealand high-country to muster up thousands upon thousands of sheep and bring them down-valley to shear them and bring their wool to market. The task is not for the faint of hearted and can only be completed on foot with a hill-stick in one hand, a pack of dogs at your command and the land stretching out before you. This task has been repeated year in and year out, every season, in an unbroken chain since the first sheep were brought to New Zealand in the late 18th century. Generation upon generation have taken to the hills to complete the task at hand but the numbers are dwindling - both the sheep that are raised and the men that look after them. Mountain Wool tries to tell the story of one high-country station (ranch) - Lochaber - nestled in the Mackenzie range down in the Southern Alps of New Zealand and the men that work the land. There is unimaginable beauty in these parts and there is a certain timelessness and stoicism to the work that refreshingly, still remains. As grand as the landscape may be and for the thousands of sheep in this one valley, this is but a small window into a massive global industry. This is the first link in the chain, the first cog in the wheel - men working the land as they always have to bring the wool to market.

  • Year
    2019
  • Runtime
    9 minutes
  • Language
    English
  • Country
    New Zealand
  • Premiere
    Oklahoma
  • Director
    Hollis Bennett, John Huber
  • Producer
    Hollis Bennett
  • Cinematographer
    John Huber