The Great Blue Heron

Keeping Birds - A Documentary

March 2020 •English

Birds as pets is a foreign concept to many Singaporeans. Many would assume it to be an elderly man’s hobby. However, a new trend of keeping parrots is arising but many are still ignorant to the joys and issues associated with caring for these exotic pets. Focusing on three bird owners, this documentary discusses their experiences with keeping birds.

Birdsong

February 2024 •English

Ornithologist Seán Ronayne from Cobh, Co. Cork is on a mission to record the sound of every bird species in Ireland – that’s nearly 200 birds. Often joined by his partner Alba, he travels to some of the country’s most beautiful and remote locations to capture its most elusive species and soundscapes: the busy seabird colony of Skellig Michael; a native woodland free from road noise in the Burren; the corncrake stronghold of Tory Island; a solitary nest in the Donegal uplands. Along the way we get to know Seán, whose hypersensitivity to sound has proven both a struggle and a strength. At once inspiring and cautionary, Seán’s journey illustrates the beauty and importance of sound, and what listening can tell us about the state of our natural world.

Deutschlands Wilde Vögel 2

October 2014 •German

Roof on the Moonway

April 2001 •Latvian

In the early 1980’s two hundred pairs of common terns (Sterna hirundo) were forced to abandon their last natural nesting place on a river island near a major European capital Riga. Looking for a new habitat, the birds chose the flat pebbled roof of a concrete island – a printing house – in the middle of the city. The first generation of birds to grow up on this roof and fly to Southern Africa every winter have covered the distance from the Earth to the Moon. During the film various human attitudes towards the terns will emerge. The attitude of the birds is clear – they view things form above.

Black Cockatoo Crisis

November 2022 •English

Western Australia's iconic black cockatoos are in crisis. Their numbers have fallen dramatically over the past few decades and all three species in the south west of WA could become extinct in just 20 years unless something is done to protect their habitats. With the loss of the banksia woodlands on the Swan Coastal Plain to housing, Carnaby's Black Cockatoos have come to depend on the once vast exotic pine plantations on Perth's northern fringe.

All That Breathes

October 2022 •English

Against the darkening backdrop of New Delhi's apocalyptic air and escalating violence, two brothers devote their lives to protecting one casualty of the turbulent times: the bird known as the black kite.

Bird Woman

January 2024 •German

Annedore takes care of orphan birds. They give her that which humans througout her turbulent life could never give her: love.

Birder

March 2022 •Spanish

In the last 20 years, Daniel Garza has managed to photograph 850 of the 1107 species of birds that inhabit Mexico. Through his observations he has realized the urgency to preserve them.

Hummingbirds: Jewelled Messengers

June 2012 •English

David Attenborough narrates this close up look at these tiny pollinators captured in flight as never before. Acrobats of the air - flying jewels - iridescent partners of countless plants: hummingbirds are amongst the most remarkable creatures on our planet.

Gannets: The Wrong Side of the Run

January 2010 •English

In this traditional blue-chip documentary we show a dramatic comparison between two environments fed by the same stock of sardine, and dominated by the Cape gannets.

The Hummingbird Effect

March 2023 •English

Costa Rica's motto is Pura Vida - Pure Life - and this deceptively small country is bursting with some of the most spectacular wildlife and pristine ecosystems in the world. All this diversity thrives, in part, thanks to one surprising little creature: hummingbirds. Venture across Costa Rica's wild and rugged landscapes, from volcanic peaks to coastal jungle to misty cloud forests and discover the nation's dazzling diversity of hummingbirds. Watch how these tiny birds play an outsize role in maintaining some of the richest and wildest environments on Earth, where a whole community of creatures, such as macaws and monkeys, enjoys The Hummingbird Effect.

Broken Wings

May 2022 •English

Broken Wings is the story of a one-winged American black vulture named Adonis, and the two women in his life: Jayne, a charismatic waitress who has fed him every day for 10 years, and Ann, her spiritually-minded roommate.

Deutschlands wilde Vögel

October 2013 •German

Dancing with the Birds

October 2019 •English

Some of the world's most majestic birds display delightfully captivating mating rituals, from flashy dancing to flaunting their colorful feathers.

Early Spring Wetlands

May 2023 •English

Wildlife in an early spring wetland.

The Pigeon People

Invalid date •English

Directed by Patrick Gramm, 'The Pigeon People' (2023) takes you deep into Arizona's underground pigeon racing scene as racing rivals prepare for and compete in the Grand Canyon Classic - a 350-mile pigeon race from Utah to Arizona that crosses over the Grand Canyon.

Islands of the Vampire Birds

March 1999 •English

The story of Darwin's finches and their relationship with other creatures of the Galapagos; tracing their evolution, how the islands were formed and how it's main inhabitants got there.

Flyways

May 2023 •English

Flyways follows endangered migratory shorebirds as they travel their ancient migration routes around the planet. Using nanotechnology and global tracking from the International Space Station, the project will uncover the paths of the world’s greatest, feathered endurance athletes and shine a light on the scientists and international lawyers who are collaborating to save them.

Birds of America

May 2022 •French

In the first half of the 19th century, the French ornithologist Jean-Jacques Audubon travelled to America to depict birdlife along the Mississippi River. Audubon was also a gifted painter. His life’s work in the form of the classic book ‘Birds of America’ is an invaluable documentation of both extinct species and an entire world of imagination. During the same period, early industrialisation and the expulsion of indigenous peoples was in full swing. The gorgeous film traces Audubon’s path around the South today. The displaced people’s descendants welcome us and retell history, while the deserted vistas of heavy industry stretch across the horizon. The magnificent, broad images in Jacques Loeuille’s atmospheric, modern adventure reminds us at the same time how little - and yet how much - is left of the nature that Audubon travelled around in. His paintings of the colourful birdlife of the South still belong to the most beautiful things you can imagine.

To Teach a Bird to Fly

January 2020 •English

This experimental nature documentary by Minna Rainio and Mark Roberts depicts climate change and the wave of extinction from the point of view of our near future. Actually, it depicts the age we live in now, or rather its fateful consequences.