»I kept saying involuntarily during the edit: ›I’m seeing you, Luma. Don’t worry Luma, we see you.‹ I’m not sure any farm animal really feels seen. And I wondered what that meant in terms of her existence.« – Andrea Arnold

Luma the cow’s laborious working day is determined by a fixed routine: waiting, going to the milk shed, being milked, eating. Luma is like a worker, the English farm on which she is kept a factory. Alongside lots of other cows, there are also people on the farm who handle the animals with distanced friendliness.

For four years, the camera in Cow is Luma’s constant and close companion. In this time, we become witnesses to the simple and cruel equation that the ›dairy cow‹ Luma only produces milk when she gives birth to a calf, which is then taken away from her. After her first birth, we follow the next stages in the calf’s life. Without anthropomorphising Luma, this tender portrait never leaves a moment of doubt that she has feelings and is fully aware of what is happening around her. There are many difficult and profoundly tragic moments. We sense her bewilderment at what is done to her, and her attempts to resist are heart-wrenching. But Luma also experiences moments of happiness and contentment, for example when she frolics joyfully on the spring pasture for the first time.

In cooperation with the Office of Equal Opportunity at KHM

Guest: Magda Kowalczyk (DoP) (requested)

This film has been nominated for the Audience Award endowed with 1,000 euro. Please vote after watching the movie.
You can find an overview of all nominated films here.