Winter Nomads

Directed by Manuel von Sturler

85 minutes / Color
French / English subtitles
Release: 2014
Copyright: 2013

Pascal, 53, and Carole, 28, are shepherds. In the month of November 2010, they embark on their long winter transhumance: four months during which they will have to cover 600 km in the Swiss region, accompanied by three donkeys, four dogs and eight hundred sheep.

An exceptional adventure is about to begin: They brave the cold and the bad weather day in and day out, with a canvas cover and animal skins as their only shelter at night. This saga reveals a tough and exacting profession requiring constant improvisation and unflinching attention to nature, the animals and the cosmos.

An odyssey through a region undergoing profound changes that render this kind of expedition more difficult every year, particularly when the grass for the sheep has to be found between villas, railroad tracks and industrial areas.

An eventful journey with surprise encounters, moving reunions with farmer friends, nostalgic figures of country life that is shrinking away fast.

A film dominated by the strong personalities of Pascal and Carole, whose relationship and joie de vivre transform this transhumance into a magnificent hymn to freedom, at opposite extremes of our comfortable reality.

is an adventure film, a contemporary road movie, a reflection of our current world, which takes us back to our roots and our inner questions.

"An exhilarating verite work!"—Sheri Linden, LA Tmes

"Swiss-born director Manuel von Sturler applies a verite approach to their undertaking, gently drawing upon the rough, bucolic romance of the 'transhumance'."—Nicolas Rapold, The New York Times

"Showcases nature, but its real theme is its subjects' engagement with their work... Visuals don't skimp on the adorable."—Jay Weissberg, Variety

"As beautiful as it is bleak."—Village Voice

"Highly recommended! An exercise in the orchestration of animals toward a goal."Educational Media Reviews Online

Other Ways to Watch

Individuals

Available online from:

Colleges, Universities, Government Agencies, Hospitals, and Corporations

Purchase DVD for $398.00

Available for educational streaming from:

Credits

A film by Manuel von Sturler

Select Accolades

  • World Premiere, Berlinale Film Festival 2012​
  • Best of Fest, Amsterdam IDFA Film Festival 2012
  • Golden Gate Award, San Francisco Internatinoal Film Festival 2012
  • Best Swiss Film, Visions du Reel Internatinoal Film Festival 2012
  • Best Documentary, European Film Academy 2012

RELATED TITLES

The story of Fulani cattle herders in West Africa using U.S. satellite imaging technology to find grazing and water for their herds during drought.

Christopher Walker | 1999 | 52 minutes | Color

Chantal Akerman retraces a journey from the end of summer to deepest winter, from East Germany, across Poland and the Baltics, to Moscow. "One of the 10 Best Films of the 1990s."— J. Hoberman, Artforum

Chantal Akerman | 2003 | 110 minutes | Color | No dialog

A family on the Himalayan plains discovers their dog is worth a fortune, but selling it comes at a terrible price.

PEMA Tseden | 2012 | 88 minutes | Color | Tibetan | English subtitles

Yu Guangyi's stunning debut explores a grueling winter amongst loggers in Northeast China, as they work with traditional methods through one last, fateful expedition.

YU Guangyi | 2012 | 90 minutes | Color | English | English subtitles