The Film

Why is burning wool a bad idea? WOOL MAN SHEEP follows shepherds, researchers, designers and wool processors on a journey through eleven European countries, exploring one of Europe’s oldest and most underestimated raw materials.

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A large flock of sheep crosses the rolling landscape of Transylvania in the evening light.
Transhumance in Transylvania

A journey into wool

The story follows a year in the working lives of two shepherds in Transylvania. We accompany Adrian on his winter transhumance and Nicolae during his summer work in the Romanian Carpathians. Their stories connect 14 in-depth interviews with people working in science, design, shepherding and wool processing. The film reveals rare traditional skills, including the first filming of sheep’s milk butter being churned from curd cheese — a technique found in just one village. It introduces long-established businesses and people whose knowledge may be vital to the future of our landscapes.

A large flock of sheep crosses a motorway on a bridge.
Transhumance in Spain: tradition meets modern infrastructure

A valuable raw material — and the question of its value

Wool was Spain’s “white gold”, helped shape Britain’s rise and left its mark on the magnificent buildings of trading cities across Europe. Today, in many places, it is burnt or thrown away. The film asks how this came about and reveals the connections between our treatment of wool and biodiversity, climate change, wildfire risk, rural life, and the value we place on work and knowledge.

A large heap of discarded wool burns in a meadow.
When a valuable raw material becomes waste
A wild bee and another insect on a blue flower in a species-rich meadow.
Sheep grazing and biodiversity

From sheep to finished product

Wool’s journey begins with the sheep and continues through shearing, sorting, washing, carding, combing and spinning, becoming yarn, fabric, clothing or a carpet. The film shows the work, knowledge, experience and passion of the people who keep this chain alive despite difficult economic conditions.

A historic machine opens and loosens black and white sheep’s wool.
The knowledge and technology of wool processing
A woman knits outdoors with naturally coloured wool yarn.
From raw material to clothing

A film that asks questions

The film offers no simple set of instructions. It wants to show people who work with sheep and wool that their work matters, and trusts its audience to listen, recognise connections and draw their own conclusions.

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