'When the Cows Come Home' (PG)

THURSDAY 15th DECEMBER 10-30am / 6pm / 8-15pm 'When the Cows Come Home' (PG)
Premiering at the 2022 New Zealand International Film Festival, When the Cows Come Home documents the relationship between farmer Andrew Johnstone and two cows, Tilly and Maggie. Director Costa Botes (Forgotten Silver, Angie) explores the philosophies of this Waikato musician turned farmer, who saved the two bovine beauties from slaughter so that they could become "forever cows". When the Cows Come Home marks Botes' ninth feature-length documentary to be selected for New Zealand's yearly round of film festivals.

I love being surrounded by cows. There's no discussion, there's no talk. It's just purely emotional.
– Andrew Johnstone on being amongst the herd

When the Cows Come Home is the latest film from New Zealand film-maker Costa Botes. Perhaps most well-known for fooling the country with his Peter Jackson collaboration 'Forgotten Silver' which told the fictional story of Colin McKenzie, the greatest Kiwi who never lived.
This film, however, is completely real. It tells the story of Andrew Johnstone, a farmer based in the Waikato region who saved two cows, Maggie & Tilly from execution and found a new sense of purpose with his bovine besties. Johnstone has worn many hats in his lifetime, working on the radio and as a film reviewer for Rip It Up magazine, also artist and musician but watching him interact with his herd of cows, it's clear he's found his calling. Filmed over three visits to Cambridge, 'When the Cows Come Home' is an incredibly raw film, unafraid to pull at the less flattering threads of Andrew's life. The credits fly by at the end of the film as you realise it mostly is just two men, a camera and a bunch of cows.

Of course, Botes wasn't the only person working on the film, the score by Tom McLeod is a highlight of the film, adding a real emotional resonance to the piece. Costa Botes is contemplating retirement following 'When the Cows Come Home', citing failing health and the endurance and stamina required to direct a film. If this does end up being the final film from the veteran filmmaker, it's a beautiful send-off, discussing what makes us happy, who we are and what we were put on this earth to do. I can't think of anything more quintessentially New Zealand than a farmer who has struggled with mental health issues and whose life is changed by a friendship with some livestock.

THURSDAY 15th December showing at 10-30am / 6pm / 8-15pm
Tickets from eventfinda.co.nz and on door. $15/$12/$10 TEXT BOOKINGS to 0210 222 5558