Penguins aside, it’s rare to see a documentary that solely focuses on the experiences of non-human protagonists. In her feature Horses, Liz Mermin spent a year documenting the lives of three Irish racehorses, with the potential to be stars of the National Hunt racing circuit. Liz joins us to discuss the challenges of creating a documentary where the humans are mere bit players.
Horses (2009)
A beautifully detailed and exciting documentary film following a year in the lives of three Irish racehorses, keeping as close to the horses as possible.
There’s a patience about sitting and waiting and watching I think that you need to have in this kind of film in order to get something.
I love the film clips and love this interview – can’t wait to see the rest of the doc! Just finished a student project a few weeks ago on a similar topic – the retiring of a young, injured race horse in Vancouver, B.C. It’s called “Racing Machine…a thoroughbred story”. It’s on Vimeo in HD. I had about 24 hours post-pitch to put it together and 4 days to shoot – plus my editor had just learned FC Pro that week. So it ended up a short demo but I’d love to continue it to a feature-length doc and tell the full story. WTG Liz – I also had to work with non-horsepeople on my crew and I totally relate to everything you’ve said! Hope you win lots of awards š
when will this movie be released in the US?
Hey Jean, I’m not sure as the film is currently listed as unavailable on Amazon? Best bet is to head of to http://www.merminfilm.com/ and ask them via the contact form.