Special preview screening at Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre on 18th December includes Q&A with Rainton Farm team
An award-winning documentary following pioneering Galloway dairy farmers will have a special preview screening in Dumfries next month, offering local audiences the first chance to see the film before a wider regional run in January.
‘A Dairy Story’ screens at the Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre on Thursday 18th December at 7.30pm, with a Q&A following the screening featuring farmers David Finlay and Charles Ellett from Rainton Farm.
The 78-minute documentary follows David and his late wife Wilma who spent two decades developing Europe’s first commercially viable cow-with-calf dairy system - keeping calves with their mothers for months rather than separating them within hours of birth, as most dairy farms do. Rainton Farm, near Gatehouse of Fleet, was previously the home of ice cream visitor attraction Cream o’ Galloway, and is now known for its artisan cheese, The Ethical Dairy.
The film has already won two festival awards: the Louis Marcus Award for Best Documentary at IndieCork Film Festival in Ireland, and the Audience Award at Central Scotland Documentary Festival in Stirling.
Producer Lorna Young said: “Bringing the film home to Dumfries and Galloway feels incredibly important. This is David and Wilma’s story, filmed in the beautiful Galloway landscape, showing work that is now influencing farmers across Europe and beyond. The Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre team have been wonderfully supportive, offering technical screening advice as we finalised the film, which is why we wanted to host a local screening with them first. The December preview gives our local community the chance to see it before it goes wider.”
The Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre is 69-seat cinema in a converted 18th century mill on the banks of the River Nith, operated by Dumfries and Galloway Council. Councillor Tracey Little, Chair of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing Committee, said: “It’s wonderful to see the Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre supporting local filmmakers and bringing their work to our community. The pioneering efforts at Rainton Farm deserve to be celebrated, and this documentary ensures their important contribution to sustainable agriculture is shared with audiences here and beyond.”
David Finlay, the farmer at Rainton Farm, added: “Wilma and I spent twenty years developing this system because we believed that working with natural systems and natural instincts could create benefits for the farm, for the animals and for the environment. The success of the documentary at the film festivals its screened at so far is very exciting, but if this film helps even a few farmers see that cow-with-calf dairying is possible, or encourages consumers to ask questions about how food production can be more sustainable, then I’m happy with that.”
The screening offers audiences an opportunity to hear directly from farmer David Finlay and Dairy Manager Charles Ellett about the challenges and rewards of transforming Rainton’s farming system, and to ask questions about the practical realities of cow-with-calf dairying.
Following the preview, ‘A Dairy Story’ will have an extended run at the Robert Burns Centre in January, with additional screenings also anticipated at other Dumfries & Galloway cinemas.
The film carries particular significance following Wilma Finlay’s death from cancer in March 2025. Filming began shortly after her diagnosis to document the transformative impact of her and David’s pioneering work.
Screening Details:
‘A Dairy Story’
Thursday 18th December, 7.30pm
Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre, Dumfries
Tickets: https://rbcfilmtheatre.co.uk/all-listings/dairystory181225
Trailer: https://youtu.be/LtbQE24Z-NI?si=B22mPcsu-Hfs90Tz
Additional Screenings at the RBC Film Theatre will take place on 20, 21 and 22 January 2026.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
- With only 69 seats available, early booking is advised
- The film won the Audience Award at Central Scotland Documentary Festival in early November and the Louis Marcus Award for Best Documentary at IndieCork Film Festival in mid-October 2025.
- Additional film festival selections of A Dairy Story will be announced soon.
- Rainton Farm (The Ethical Dairy) is located near Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway
- Charles Ellett is dairy manager at Rainton Farm
- David Finlay was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College) in September 2025 for his contribution to sustainable agriculture.
- ‘A Dairy Story’ was directed by Ian Findlay and produced by Lorna Young through Dumfries-based Laverock Productions
Press Passes:
A small number of press passes for this screening are available on request. Priority will be given to members of the media who are attending with intention to review the film. Please contact us for press passes.
High-resolution images and interview opportunities available on request