In “Pastorales”, former livestock breeder Violaine Bérot works with a shepherdess and an academic to recreate a contemporary version of Virgil’s Bucolics. Amid mountains transformed into tourist destinations, the two women tell visitors about their lives that have been shaped by living in the company of animals.

We find ourselves drawn in by their devotion and the harshness of their daily life, where courage and composure are imperative. In what appears to be a punishing existence these two rebellious souls, so sensitive to the beauty of the surrounding nature, reveal the passion for their work and the great complicity they share with the animals.

The work and the solitude of their lives are an ode to the skill of rearing animals and the craft of writing.