Private Project

Ba Baa Shangri La

Each spring Newfoundland farmers in my community take their sheep by open boat to a predator free island for sustainable grazing. The herd grazes on lush grass, drinks from freshwater springs; and exists without human intervention. The seasonal consumption of the grass along with the manure has maintained a yearly supply of lush organic pasture. Before the winter freeze the sheep are collected along with their healthy new born lambs. This joy filled, sustainable tradition has been practised for generations.

  • Nicola Hawkins
    Director
    Scored by Time, Circle of Truth
  • Nicola Hawkins
    Writer
    Scored by Time, Circle of Truth
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 20 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 15, 2024
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Shooting Format:
    HD 1080
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Nicola Hawkins

Nicola Hawkins is a choreographer and visual artist who began, in 2019, making short art films both fictional and documentary.

Her short observational documentaries feature rural outdoor life on the Southern Shore of the Avalon Peninsula where she lives. She shoots and edits these low budget films.

The latest, Ba Baa Shangri La 2024 follows the journey of sheep by a boat to an island near her home for summer grazing. Circle of Truth (2022) reveals her partners relationship with the earth as he digs, seeds and harvests their food over a course of a year. She is currently in post production on Pie a film about an apple tree and its caretakers filmed over three seasons.

Nicola also makes fictional narratives without dialogue which have been made with assistance from ArtsNL and Canada Council for the Arts and to date have screened at over 20 film festivals in Canada and around the world. Four of her films have won awards.

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Director Statement

I live in rural Newfoundland, Canada an island, nicknamed “the rock” in the north Atlantic Ocean. On the island's Southern Shore, where I live, the landscape is rugged with limited grazing pasture. Close offshore is the uninhabited Isle aux Bois. Its trees were cut generations ago but its relatively flat terrain, fresh water springs and lush summer grass create a Shangri La for sheep.

Farmers have been pasturing their animals there since at least the 1800's. There is no dock or wharf on Isle aux Bois only a small beach for landing flanked by vertical shale cliffs. The Morry family, together with a few other farmers, transport their sheep to the island by boat each spring to fattening them up on fresh grass, safe from predictors like coyotes or people. In the fall the sheep make the return voyage home, some with their new born lambs.

I shot and edited Ba Baa Shangri La to celebrate a time honoured tradition that speaks eloquently not only about environmental sustainability but also the power of cooperation across and within generations of Newfoundlanders.