Realistic cinematic cozy village animation in Blender

GOAL: Make a realistic, cinematic animation of a living cozy village at sunset, entirely from scratch, in Blender. MOTION: A little village sits in a green valley beside a winding river as the sun goes down: cottages with thatched and tiled roofs, a market square with stalls and lanterns, a stone bridge, a big windmill turning slowly on the hill, and a water wheel turning in the river. Chimney smoke drifts up, horse carts roll along the roads, laundry sways, birds fly home. As the golden sunset fades into a warm blue evening, the street lamps and windows light up one by one, until the whole village glows peacefully under the first stars."