The story follows a microbiologist turned stately home gardener who enlists the help of his village in an attempt to woo a Polish au pair he has fallen in love with.

[1][2][4] Tom, a gardener at Kingston Bagpuize House, falls in love with Anya, a Polish au pair.

After failing to secure backing for a previous project, Browning came upon the idea of seeking funding for Tortoise in Love from his local village.

He presented his idea to produce a feature film with a full theatrical release during a village meeting in summer 2009.

In the end, 800 residents from the village invested between £10 and £1,000 each,[6] along with a £10,000 grant from Defra's Rural Development Programme for England[7] towards the total budget of £250,000 in cash.