Emma Mykytyn Award-winning documentary A Dairy Story opens at Edinburgh’s Cameo Cinema
An award-winning documentary examining whether dairy calves should remain with their mothers will begin its UK cinema release at Edinburgh’s Cameo Cinema on Tuesday 4 August 2026.
A Dairy Story follows Rainton Farm near Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway, now known as The Ethical Dairy. It became the first commercial-scale dairy farm in Europe to keep cows and calves together and is currently the largest cow-with-calf dairy in the UK.
The Edinburgh screening, presented through Picturehouse Cinemas’ Green Screen programme, will be followed by a panel discussion featuring farmers from The Ethical Dairy, leading figures from Scotland’s food industry and representatives from Compassion in World Farming.
Rethinking conventional dairy farming
At the centre of the documentary is one of the dairy industry’s most debated practices: separating newborn calves from their mothers.
Farmers David and Wilma Finlay began questioning the conventional system after visitors repeatedly asked why calves were raised separately from the cows that had given birth to them.
Planning for a regenerative, high-welfare dairy model began in 2008. The couple launched an initial pilot in 2012, but the experiment proved financially disastrous and forced them to reconsider how the system could operate successfully.
After several years of research and adaptation, they introduced the cow-with-calf model across their full 130-cow herd in late 2016.
David Finlay said:
“It sounds like a small change, but that one thing, leaving the calves with their mother, changes absolutely everything.
“It took us a long time to figure out how to make it work, and we made a lot of mistakes, but it does work, and we would never go back to separating them.”
The system places animal welfare and sentience at the heart of the farm while also following regenerative agricultural practices intended to improve the surrounding environment.
Remembering Wilma Finlay
Wilma Finlay was diagnosed with cancer as work on the documentary began. Her diagnosis gave the project additional urgency, allowing her to help tell the story of the farm’s transformation while she was well enough to participate.
Wilma died in 2025.
The finished film documents both the practical challenges of changing an established farming system and the personal determination behind the couple’s work.
A changing dairy industry
The documentary arrives at a difficult time for British dairy farming.
Figures published by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board in June showed that the number of dairy farms in Great Britain had fallen below 7,000 for the first time. Many farms have faced mounting pressure as the price paid for milk has fallen below the cost of production.
Rainton Farm is part of a small but growing network of British farms taking a different approach. David Finlay regularly shares what he has learned with farmers interested in introducing their own cow-with-calf systems.
International recognition
A Dairy Story received the Louis Marcus Award for Best Documentary at its world premiere at IndieCork in October 2025.
It went on to win the Audience Award at its UK premiere during the Central Scotland Documentary Festival in November 2025.
The film has also received the Best Documentary Feature award at the Unisphere Film Festival in New York.
Edinburgh screening and panel discussion
The screening at the Cameo Cinema will be followed by a discussion featuring David Finlay and The Ethical Dairy’s dairy manager, Charles Ellett, both of whom appear in the documentary.
They will be joined by Peter Stevenson, Chief Policy Advisor at Compassion in World Farming, the film’s official partner.
Two prominent figures from Scotland’s food and restaurant scene will also take part.
Fred Berkmiller is chef patron of l’escargot bleu on Edinburgh’s Broughton Street, which he has run for 17 years. It was the first restaurant in the UK to receive certification from Pasture for Life.
Berkmiller was named Chef of the Year at the CIS Excellence Awards in 2019 and recognised as a Food Pioneer at the Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards. L’escargot bleu has also twice been named Best Restaurant in Scotland at the Slow Food UK Awards.
Charlie and Angus Buchanan-Smith from The Free Company in Balerno will also attend. Located at the foot of the Pentland Hills, The Free Company combines an organic, regeneratively farmed holding with a restaurant.
The business received a Michelin Green Star in February 2026 and has previously won the Sustainability Award at the National Restaurant Awards and the Farming for the Future Award at the BBC Food & Farming Awards.
The land farmed by The Free Company was once home to a pedigree Ayrshire dairy herd.
Philip Lymbery, Global CEO of Compassion in World Farming, said:
“A Dairy Story shows, with honesty and heart, that a more compassionate approach to dairy farming is a working reality.
“Compassion in World Farming is proud to partner with a film that lets audiences see it for themselves.”
An independently made Scottish documentary
The film was produced independently by Dumfries-based producer Lorna Young and debut director Ian Findlay. It is being released through their company, Laverock Productions.
Findlay had photographed the Rainton Farm herd for several years before beginning work on the documentary.
He said:
“There are many documentaries that tell you what to think about farming.
“We wanted to create a film that gives audiences the space to reach their own conclusions about the separation of dairy cows and calves, and to reveal the passion and the motivations that underpin a change like this.”
More than 1,200 people across 28 countries have already pledged their support for cow-with-calf dairy through the film’s interactive online map, while requests for screenings have been received from around the world.
Further UK screenings
Ahead of the official Edinburgh opening, a special preview will take place at Norwich Cinema City on Thursday 30 July.
The preview panel will feature David Finlay, Philip Lymbery and Norfolk cow-with-calf farmer Rebecca Mayhew.
Further Green Screen events are scheduled for:
– Exeter Picturehouse on Tuesday 11 August
– Bath Little Theatre on Wednesday 12 August
– Henley Regal on Thursday 20 August
– Brighton Duke of York’s on Sunday 23 August
The screenings will include discussions with David Finlay and farmers from the UK’s growing network of cow-with-calf dairy farms.
Additional dates are expected to be announced.
A Dairy Story at the Cameo Cinema
Date: Tuesday 4 August 2026
Venue: Cameo Cinema, 38 Home Street, Edinburgh EH3 9LZ
Event: Film screening followed by a panel discussion
Further information and ticket links are available through the A Dairy Story and Picturehouse Cinemas websites.
