Baa Baa Land

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Baa Baa Land
Baa Baa Land.png
Directed byGarth Thomas
Screenplay byPeter Freedman
Produced byPeter Freedman, Michael Acton Smith, Alex Tew
Edited byGarth Thomas
Production
company
Release date
  • September 27, 2017 (2017-09-27)
Running time
480 minutes [1]
CountryUnited Kingdom

Baa Baa Land is a 2017 slow cinema film produced by meditation software company Calm featuring eight hours of footage of sheep standing in a field. [1] The idea for the film was conceived by producer Peter Freedman, and was directed, shot and edited by art film director Garth Thomas. Each shot lasts between 30 minutes to over an hour. [2] It was filmed at the Layer Marney lamb and sheep farm near Tiptree in Essex, England, [3] [4] and premiered at the Prince Charles Cinema in London's West End on September 27, 2017. [5]

The film is an example of "slow cinema", a technique that focuses on long takes, minimalism, and often very little to no narrative or dialogue. [2] The film has no plot nor any human actors, dialogue or narrative, and was described as the "dullest movie ever made" by Freedman. It is intended to put viewers to sleep, [6] [7] and was described by producer Alex Tew, a co-founder of Calm along with producer Michael Acton Smith, as "better than any sleeping pill" and "the ultimate insomnia cure". [8]

Baa Baa Land's length of eight hours has led some to call it the nineteenth longest film of all time, the same length as Andy Warhol's 1967 film The Imitation of Christ and five minutes shorter than Empire .

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References

  1. 1 2 Hanrahan, Mark (July 19, 2017). "Is this eight-hour sheep epic 'the dullest movie ever'?". Reuters . Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Kirby, Matthew (July 19, 2017). "Filmmakers Set Out To Create An 8-Hour Slo-Mo Movie Starring Only Sheep, Promises To Put You To Sleep". Konbini . Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  3. Masters, Linita (July 19, 2017). "Dullest Movie Ever Made To Benefit Insomniacs Internationally : BAA BAA LAND IS "ULTIMATE INSOMNIA CURE" @calm". Hollywood 360 . Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  4. "Eight-hour slow-motion film consisting of sheep grazing to hit red carpet – Farming UK News". www.farminguk.com. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  5. Oliver, David (September 27, 2017). "Health Buzz: This Movie About Sheep May Actually Put You to Sleep". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  6. Nelson, Alex (July 21, 2017). "Why I made an eight-hour film about a field of sheep". iNews . Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  7. Ledbetter, Carly (July 20, 2017). "'Baa Baa Land,' The 'Dullest Movie Ever Made', Promises To Put You To Sleep". HuffPost . Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  8. Ishani, Roy (July 20, 2017). "The Most Boring Movie Ever, 'Baa Baa Land,' Stars Sheep And Has Been Made To Make You Sleep". International Business Times . Retrieved July 24, 2017.