Health care workers don't clock out

Highlighting the need for recovery, writer/director Robin Mason explores the aftermath of trauma. 

This film follows a young nurse as she comes home after another grueling shift at work. After taking a shower, eating dinner, Zooming with her family, doing all the normal, regular, standard things that should help people unwind, she finds that she can’t relax at all. She tosses and turns, and without saying anything, the film gets across the feeling of isolation and hurt that comes at the end of a shift. 

Effective and brutally honest, Counting Sheep is a measured look at the ways that nurses have been affected by the past year of work. From the mask sores on her face to the distracted chat with her family, the nurse is a controlled exploration of trauma. It feels remarkably sad and real and imagining thousands of nurses holding it together just to retraumatise themselves every time they go into work is heartbreaking. 

The young nurse at the centre of the film is actress Hannah Edwards, and Counting Sheep was produced by Harri Kamalanathan and Sophie Ede through Haus Pictures.