Louth director's film set to hit the big screen

The award-winning film Notes From Sheepland by Louth filmmaker Cara Holmes is set to hit the big screen in cinemas nationwide this Friday.

Notes From Sheepland, directed by Cara Holmes, from Blackrock, Co Louth, bursts with candid observations of lipstick wearing, always swearing, no nonsense, artist and shepherd, Orla Barry.

Through her fields, her digital diaries, and the pedigree sheep she cares for, the audience discovers how the art is in the doing.

Orla Barry is a self-confessed ovine addict.  She is a decade in sheep, she’s still wondering what possessed her to start but yet she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. 

Orla lived in Brussels for 16 years and now lives and works in South East Ireland where she runs a flock of pedigree Lleyn sheep.

Louth's Anaverna House set to host their annual outdoor family theatre extravaganza next month

An Táin Arts Centre and Chalk on the Wall Productions present, Brigid and Cú: The League of Legends at Anaverna House running from the 7th until the 11th of August.

Her work deals with the tensions of being an artist and an eco-farmer in rural Ireland.

The sheep have slowed her art career but at the same, caring for them has hugely inspired it, she said.

She escapes the studio by going to the sheep, escapes the sheep by hiding in her studio.

Notes from Sheepland allows Orla as she floats between these worlds. It reflects upon the primal, poetic and unpredictable bond she has with the natural world.

Film editor and director, Blackrock native Cara's prowess shines through her acclaimed works, directing the IFTA-winning film Welcome To A Bright White Limbo, which received a Special Jury mention at the Tribeca film festival in 2020 and screened at HotDocs, Sheffield Doc/Fest, and Aesthetica.

Cara's debut feature documentary, Notes From Sheepland, premiered internationally at the Telluride Film Festival in 2023, garnering accolades like Best Documentary at the Dublin International Film Festival 2023 and the Pull Focus Best Irish Feature Documentary at Docs Ireland 2023.

Notes from Sheepland was also nominated for an IFTA in 2024.

Cara's editing credits include the feature documentaries, Housewife of The Year, Piano Dreams, Father of the Cyborgs and Lost in France.

She has worked with Screen Ireland ,TG4, RTÉ, BBC and the Arts Council of Ireland to create works that expand the form of documentary storytelling in Ireland.

Notes From Sheepland will open in cinemas including the IFI and Light House in Dublin, Pálás Cinema Galway, QFT Belfast on Friday July 26th and Triskel in Cork on September 28th.

Q&A screenings will take place on Friday 26 July - IFI Q&A with Orla Barry and director Cara Holmes, hosted by Selina Guinness, post 6.30pm screening.

And on Wednesday 31 July -in Arc Wexford Q&A with Orla Barry and director Cara Holmes, hosted by Wexford Arts Officer, Liz Burns, post 8.15pm screening.