YOUNG farmers will appear on the silver screen as part of this year’s Borderlines Film Festival.

The documentary, a work in progress, follows a group of the county’s young farmers over the course of a year and is directed by Anne Cottringer.

The idea grew out of a previous Borderlines debate about rural issues that Anne attended.

“Through that event I was introduced to several young farmers and slowly I got to know some of them and the things that were issues for them,”

explained Anne.

“I found it increasingly interesting and thought I’d like to make a film about them.”

Anne is a Hereford-based freelance filmmaker and author, whose previous documentaries for British television have taken her to Africa, South America, India, and many European destinations.

“With the younger farmers’ cooperation, and having persuaded my husband to act as cameraman, we started filming and I soon decided that I’d like to follow people for 12 months, working towards May this year.”

The young farmers in the film, who range in age from 16 to almost 30, face the daily challenge of keeping farming alive in Herefordshire.

“The film follows the dramas, big and small, of life on a farm as well as the packed social calendar of the Young Farmers’ Clubs.

Spending time with young farmers proved something of a revelation for Anne, who admits to having known nothing about farming before she started making the film.

In the course of the past eight or nine months, three things have been particularly striking, she said.

“One of the biggest surprises was the discovery that the greatest advance in farming has probably been the mobile phone, which has helped them become much more efficient.

“But what has been most impressive is their commitment to farming and their passion for what is a way of life rather than a job.”

Extracts from Young Farmers, will form part of a discussion at The Courtyard in Hereford as part of Borderlines Film Festival on Saturday, February 27, at 11am, and tickets are free.