¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Andrew Baker’s film Shepherd in Winter, premiering on Made Here this week, profiles Middlebury, Vermont, shepherd Don Mitchell.

After losing the use of his shoulder, Mitchell turns to written autobiography, reexamining the choices he and his wife Cheryl made as much younger people that shaped them into the couple they've become in their mid-70s.

Baker’s film is a follow-up to his 2016 film with the Mitchells, called Lambing Season, which is also available to watch now.

Filmmaker Andrew Baker answered questions about the film via email with ¿ªÔÆÌåÓý's Eric Ford. This interview has been lightly copy edited.

Eric Ford: How did you first discover Don and decide to make a film about him?

Andrew Baker: Don taught the first class I took at Middlebury College in the fall of 1998, “Novels into Film.� I got to know him better as a screenwriting teacher, and we stayed in touch after graduation.

In the winter of 2015, I spent a couple weeks on his farm working on a fiction screenplay about a shepherd, and learned a lot about the upcoming spring lambing season � and a bit about his past, his temperament and his outlook as a retired college teacher.

I had planned to return in the spring and work on another draft of the script, but instead I asked him if I could come back with some filmmaking gear and shoot a documentary. Thus, Lambing Season.

Andrew Baker

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Courtesy

Eric Ford: Lambing Season is the first film of yours about Don that we aired on Made Here back in 2017. What made you want to revisit Don again with this film?

Andrew Baker: There was no plan to return. In January 2022 I was living on Don and Cheryl’s farm while teaching a documentary filmmaking course at Middlebury. I asked him if I could film with him a little, mostly as a way to teach scene coverage and so forth to my students. It became clear right away that there was another film to be made � having to do with a new chapter in his life, a moving out from one phase and into another � which I shot on my time off from teaching. I returned in the spring to shoot the film’s ending.

One more film with the Mitchells in the coming years would form a nice round trilogy, but we’ll see. It’s certainly an imposition, as well as a presumption of sorts to see another person’s life as story.

Eric Ford: What were some challenges you faced while making this film?

Andrew Baker: Shooting on student gear rather than professional equipment led to a specific constrained way of working. All audio had to be recorded with an onboard shotgun mic, which meant shooting physically close in order to get clear dialogue. The camera was much smaller and lighter than I was used to, with a tiny viewfinder, which was a challenge for steady and sharp handheld work. Aside from that, Don and Cheryl were both quite open to the workflow.

Andrew Baker

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Lambing Season stayed largely outside of their house and their personal space, but this film was almost entirely within. A natural storyteller, Don can see the value of certain scenes right away. We would discuss things to film, and they would accommodate my invasion of their home � including finding a broom for me to tape the microphone to during Don’s interview. Editing went smoothly, with John Konopka’s rich, stirring score turning a solid film into a whole film.

Eric Ford: What do you hope viewers take away from seeing Shepherd in Winter?

Andrew Baker: Whatever each viewer gets out of it. My films are really just portraits of people at work in this life. Mood is the most important characteristic for me, in the form of a curious, observational tone. I don’t seek specific responses from the viewer; I just try to see and feel a world clearly and tell a nuanced story.

Eric Ford: What are you working on next, film-wise?

Andrew Baker: I have another film, Harleyville, premiering in competition at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival the same week Shepherd in Winter premieres on ¿ªÔÆÌåÓý.

Harleyville explores the lives of a model train enthusiast and his wife, a painter, in Maine. I’m also nearing completion of a feature documentary I shot with my father while he was dying of cancer; Serviceman should be finished later this year. Two or three potential projects are on the horizon.

Shepherd in Winter premieres on ¿ªÔÆÌåÓý's main TV channel 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13, followed by Lambing Season, and both are available now on demand.