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Film short abstract

Sheep flocks in the Lake District are ‘hefted’ to the fell - overtime they developed an instinct to remain on a patch of land. Through intimate engagement with the process of craftsmen (farmers and people who create with wool), we learn/reflect on the ways in which they too are 'hefted' to the land.

Film synopsis

On the fells of the Lake District, sheep graze without being fenced in, yet they do not wander. Centuries ago, shepherds taught them the invisible geographical boundaries of their land. The flocks are now ‘hefted’ to the fell; meaning that over time, they developed an instinct to remain on this patch of land, otherwise known as their ‘heft’.

Today, the tradition of hefting is threatened due to the de-stocking of the fells in an effort to make way for re-wilding projects. While conservation measures continue to advance, it is vital to understand, at this moment of transformation, the ways in which people express their connections to the land.

I investigate this question through the medium of wool as a storytelling device. Yan Tan Tethera is the title of that story. This ancient method of counting sheep and stitches in the Lake District connects my two craftsmen, farmers and those that create with wool. With this in mind, I follow the journey of the sheep’s fleece as these craftsmen interact with it. From the sheep, all the way to the end woven product.

The Lake District is deeply important to me. My film serves to reflect on this place at this particular moment in time. To hear the stories of those who have built their lives there, those who feel bound up with the land, or in other words, 'hefted' to it.