This film is part of Free
Hill Sheep Farm
Shearing, rearing and auctioneering – sheep farming in the Highlands of Scotland.
Overview
This pleasant film shows the work of a shepherd in the picturesque highlands of Scotland across a calendar year and was made to encourage the repopulation of the highlands, and the redevelopment of hill sheep farming. Some images are slightly less pleasant, including a drowned lamb, but all contribute to a realistic presentation of a shepherd’s life and work.
This film was created on behalf of the Department of Agriculture for Scotland and offers a depiction of the realities of hill sheep farming in Scotland, and how valuable it was to the wider sheep industry. It begins by indicating that the two world wars had had a significant impact on the number of shepherds working the Highlands, and the film underlines the importance of growing the industry again. Some of the scenery is stunning, including pictures of snow-covered hills, and rural life throughout the year in the Highlands is rendered beautifully. This government film is a public record, preserved and presented by the BFI National Archive on behalf of The National Archives, home to more than 1,000 years of British history.
Related
On the Island On the Island
1948 14 mins Silent Location: Glencoe
Three children get acquainted with farming life on a summer holiday at their grandmother's Scottish croft.
Jewell Personal Film 32 Jewell Personal Film 32
Amateur film 1955 17 mins Silent Location: Grangemouth
Climb every mountain - or the British ones that matter anyway - in this travel compilation by an adventurous amateur filmmaker in Wales and Scotland.
The Open Road The Open Road
Travelogue 2006 65 mins Location: Land's End
Startling colour photography of 1920s Britain imbues Claude Friese-Greene’s 1920s road trip around Britain.
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.