Vaches et Reines

The Herens cattle is a race of cows essentialy bred for tournaments. In these tournaments and among the herd, the most powerful cow is “The Queen”. Spending four months working alone as a cow herder in the Swiss Alps, Laura is given the following advice by the previous herder: she must be the Queen. The advice is taken literally, in an absurd pursuit for the title. Reflecting on power relations between humans and other animals, the film puts the unidirectionality of this relationship to question. If cows are not just bodies to be controlled by humans, what else can they be?

"For four seasons, Laura Marques has been watching over Herens cattle during their summer grazing period in the Swiss Alps. Following the advice of her predecessor, the filmmaker-cow herder strives to establish herself as “queen” of the herd. In the form of a journal, Cows and Queens reports on her often comical attempts to film the power struggle between humans and animals... from the point of view of the latter."
(Emmanuel Chicon - Visions du Réel)