It started with ​​the first photo filmmaker Paul Wyatt ever took: a blurred sheep's nose on a school trip when he was just nine. This lifelong love of animals and a deep-seated curiosity to understand their lives drove Wyatt to make Sheep, Actually.

He opens the film with a thought-provoking proposition: "If you’re going to work with wool, get to know how a sheep lives. Take a walk and meet the sheep."
In the film, Wyatt does just that, taking viewers on an insightful journey to better understand these remarkable animals and the people who work with their wool.

What’s unique for a film about wool and sheep is its setting: London and its network of city farms. This juxtaposition of sheep, cows, goats and pigs against an urban skyline offers a glimpse into a side of the capital rarely seen on screen. From plots of just a few acres to a sprawling 90-acre farm with links back to the 17th century, these green spaces are home to a wide array of rare-breed sheep.

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"There’s a lot to learn about sheep... and wool, for that matter," says filmmaker Paul Wyatt. "I wanted to make a film that reminds people where their fibres come from. Behind every woolly jumper are remarkable animals that aren’t as well understood as they could be. Sheep have distinctive personalities, they have best mates and humans they like and don’t like, just like us. I hope viewers “meet the sheep” after watching the film and are encouraged to learn more about their lives.”

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In the film, we meet a sheep named Cow, named for her resemblance to a calf at birth. Her journey includes her first experience of lambing, the shearing process and life with her new lamb. This distinctive viewpoint offers an intimate look at the lives of sheep, with Wyatt at times breaking the fourth wall to talk to the animals he encounters: the sheep, of course, but also a real cow, a goat, and a bossy squirrel.

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Alongside Cow's journey, Sheep, Actually shares stories from makers navigating the complex world of supply chains and running a craft business. The film explores the honest, often difficult choices required to run a sustainable craft business in the shadow of fast fashion. 

Beneath its woolly surface, the film is a surprising and deeply human look at where animals, people and making meet. From fashion designer Justine Lee’s journey cataloguing Britain’s 62 pure breeds and pioneering work to reduce waste wool in London, to weaver Majeda Clarke’s central question: "How do we value our wool and the sheep in this country?"