Watching People Watching Birds

A film by Ulrike Franke & Michael Loeken. Starts October 10th at the fsk. In German and English with German subtitles.

[Credits] [Tickets & Termine] [Trailer]

The num­ber and diver­si­ty of birds are decli­ning dra­ma­ti­cal­ly world­wi­de. At the same time, more and more peo­p­le are dis­co­ve­ring the world of birds for them­sel­ves: they all have their own uni­que sto­ry that has led them to beco­me birdwatchers.

Looking through bino­cu­lars is also a quest for some­thing pri­mal, uni­que and true. In an almost magi­cal way, this quest seems to trans­fer to the view­er, as if one were step­ping out of the cine­ma into ano­ther world with heigh­ten­ed sen­ses. Our film shifts the focus from the birds back to the peo­p­le who inspi­re us with their love of birds and their devo­ti­on to natu­re. We also meet the world-famous aut­hor Jonathan Franzen, who says: “One reason why wild birds are so important (…) is that they repre­sent our last, best con­nec­tion to a natu­ral world that is other­wi­se in the pro­cess of disappearing.”

Politically char­ged, serious yet also humo­rous, the film uses cine­ma­tic imagery and inten­se sound­scapes to paint a pic­tu­re of a socie­ty in the midst of a major cri­sis and peri­od of uphe­aval. The film beco­mes a nar­ra­ti­ve of doubt and hope, life and death, of stay­ing and dis­ap­pearing. And the birds beco­me, in an exhi­la­ra­ting, almost eerie way, a meta­phor for the sta­te of the world.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Credits:

DE 2026, 92 mins, German and English with German sub­tit­les
Directed by: Ulrike Franke & Michael Loeken
Cinematography: Jörg Adams, Hajo Schomerus
Edited by: Sophie Oldenbourg, Guido Krajewski

Trailer:

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