What does entertainment look like in a wellness-focused world? Once a niche trend, slow media is reaching a new wave of consumers through mass distribution.
Baa Baa Land has been called “The dullest film ever made”—not by critics, but by its creators. The eight-hour slow-motion epic has no dialogue or storyline, focusing instead on a field of sheep from Tiptree, in the UK. Rather than entertain, the film was created to help people relax by encouraging them to unwind and even fall asleep.
“We all know how addicted everyone is to Netflix and YouTube, and we thought, wouldn’t it be cool to create one of the world’s most relaxing films?” Michael Acton Smith, co-founder of Calm and co-executive producer of Baa Baa Land, told The Star. “We thought it’d fun and a little bit quirky, and hopefully people find it super relaxing.” Calm, a US-based website and app that aims to help users slow down and relax through meditation and mindfulness, commissioned the film, which premiered in theaters in London and is now available online.