Set high in the majestic French Pyrenees, The Shepherd and the Bear explores the conflict provoked by the reintroduction of brown bears amid a traditional shepherding community. The documentary follows an aging shepherd who struggles to find a successor, as bears prey on his flock, and a teenage boy who becomes obsessed with tracking the bears. Through its breathtaking cinematography and immersive storytelling, The Shepherd and the Bear is a modern folktale about tradition, community and humanity’s relationship with a vanishing natural world. Keegan learned to speak French fluently from scratch for the film and spent two years living in the Pyrenees with his subjects. “Lyrical, visually and aurally ravishing” Screen International.
UK/France/USA 2024 101 mins Dir: Max Keegan (subtitled)
Tuesday 19th May