David Finlay, Rebecca Mayhew and Philip Lymbery
Our farm is now on cinema screens across the UK.
A Dairy Story is a feature documentary that's been made about this farm and the journey David and Wilma went on to develop our cow-with-calf dairy system. The film has been screening at film festivals for nine months, where it's won several awards, and it also screened locally in Dumfries and Galloway, so we know quite a few people have already had an opportunity to see it, but as it's now on general release, we hope it will more widely available.
The first special preview screening was at Norwich Cinema City at the end of July, where Rebecca Mayhew of Old Hall Farm and Philip Lymbery, Chief Executive of Compassion in World Farming, joined David for a conversation after the screening. Rebecca farms with her cows and calves together too, and the discussion explored what this way of farming asks of the people doing it and what it might mean more widely.
Since then the official release has taken place at the Edinburgh Cameo, and David has found himself talking about cow with calf dairying with journalists from the Times and the Herald. A film in cinemas seems to give people permission to ask questions they might not otherwise have asked, and David has been glad to answer them.
It's a strange experience watching our farm on a big cinema screen, but it's very exciting to see this happen. Many of you have followed this journey for a long time and we'd love as many of our customers as possible to see the film, because you were part of getting the farm to the point where there was a story worth telling.
The film is showing as part of Picturehouse Cinemas' Green Screen programme, with screenings at Exeter Picturehouse on 11 August, The Little Theatre Cinema in Bath on 12 August, the Regal Picturehouse in Henley on 20 August, the Duke of York's in Brighton on 23 August. It's now being booked by independent cinemas across the UK, and you can see the current screenings at adairystory.com
If none of those are near you, community screenings begin later this year, and you can add a pin to the map at adairystory.com to let the film know where to go next.