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WOOLMAN

By Federica MARTINO

NOURA - as PROD

Documentary - Development 2021

Woolman is a documentary about an Englishman who is trying to save an Italian city, Biella, an industry, that one of wool manufacturing, and an ecosystem. One sheep and one farmer at a time.

- Year of production
- 2021
- Genres
- Documentary
- Countries
- ITALY
- Languages
- ITALIAN, ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN
- Duration
- 75 mn
- Director(s)
- Federica MARTINO
- Producer(s)
- Mario NUZZO (NOURA)
- Synopsis
- Nigel Thompson is one of the world's leading wool experts. In the 80s he moved from the United Kingdom to Italy, precisely to Biella - former excellence of the European textile industry.
  
  When the crisis stroked the sector, Nigel lost his job, but didn't give up. Indeed, he created an alternative business model. He set up a "sheep to shop" wool processing service for all Italian and European farmers who no longer knew how to process their raw wool.
  
  This supply chain is fully traceable. It begins in May, when the farmers send the wool to be processed, and ends in January or February, when the finished wool is sent back. Every year, Nigel's project gets bigger, but despite this, the activity continues to take place in an almost abandoned factory and has few workers.
  
  Among the breeders who collaborate with him are Jessica, a former London broker who makes duvets for Queen Elizabeth II, Nathalie, a German breeder of rare and fine sheep, and Marie, a French activist who has lived in a commune since the 70's.
  
  Woolman explores the world of Nigel, over the arch of a wool processing cycle. It moves from Biella to London and again to Germany and France, across a network that unites the whole of Europe. It meets many small realities and tells about an artisanal and sustainable chain within the textile industry.
  
  It is a story of resistance that tries to understand if Nigel is an entrepreneur of the future or is a Don Quixote.