IWFF Best-Of Shorts Block
Shorts Block 10: Wild at Heart
IWFF Shorts Block 10: Wild at Heart
This session showcases the inspiring journeys of people living among wildlife: researchers (Reindalen), citizen scientists (The Bird in My Backyard), and wildlife photographers (The Birds). These people devote their days to observing animals in their natural habitats or backyards. Through these films, we glimpse lives filled with patience, passion, and the enchanting wonders of the wilderness.
The Bird in My Backyard
Director and Producer: Ryan Wilkes
In an urban backyard on Canada’s West Coast, a window salesman has created a living laboratory for investigating hummingbird behavior. “The Bird in My Backyard” follows citizen scientist Eric Pittman as he documents the journeys of two female Anna’s hummingbirds as they attempt to raise their young in his urban garden. It’s a story about the childlike curiosity in all of us, the wonders it can reveal and the doors it can open if we just lean in a bit closer.
Reindalen
Director: Morgan Heim
Producers: Neon Raven Story Labs, Samantha Paige Huset Dwinnell
In the fastest-warming place on Earth, two friends and their canine sidekick uncover how the world’s smallest and fattest reindeer are thriving because of rising temperatures. But are they seeing a positive side-effect of climate change in the Arctic, or witnessing the end of innocence for Svalbard reindeer?
The Birds
Directors: David Allen, Martin Dohrn
Producers: Amber Beattie, Gaby Bastrya
A filmmaker facing up to the twilight of his career sets out to use his camera skills to decipher the relationship between a million seabirds and a single hunting falcon. Ultimately his cinematic portrait of this “cosmic event” provides crucial insights into the mechanisms of the natural world and the difficulties of coming to terms with the end of a life well-lived.
This session showcases the inspiring journeys of people living among wildlife: researchers (Reindalen), citizen scientists (The Bird in My Backyard), and wildlife photographers (The Birds). These people devote their days to observing animals in their natural habitats or backyards. Through these films, we glimpse lives filled with patience, passion, and the enchanting wonders of the wilderness.
The Bird in My Backyard
Director and Producer: Ryan Wilkes
In an urban backyard on Canada’s West Coast, a window salesman has created a living laboratory for investigating hummingbird behavior. “The Bird in My Backyard” follows citizen scientist Eric Pittman as he documents the journeys of two female Anna’s hummingbirds as they attempt to raise their young in his urban garden. It’s a story about the childlike curiosity in all of us, the wonders it can reveal and the doors it can open if we just lean in a bit closer.
Reindalen
Director: Morgan Heim
Producers: Neon Raven Story Labs, Samantha Paige Huset Dwinnell
In the fastest-warming place on Earth, two friends and their canine sidekick uncover how the world’s smallest and fattest reindeer are thriving because of rising temperatures. But are they seeing a positive side-effect of climate change in the Arctic, or witnessing the end of innocence for Svalbard reindeer?
The Birds
Directors: David Allen, Martin Dohrn
Producers: Amber Beattie, Gaby Bastrya
A filmmaker facing up to the twilight of his career sets out to use his camera skills to decipher the relationship between a million seabirds and a single hunting falcon. Ultimately his cinematic portrait of this “cosmic event” provides crucial insights into the mechanisms of the natural world and the difficulties of coming to terms with the end of a life well-lived.
Duration: 76 min