What does it mean to be a birdwatcher? Why is access to nature important? What makes someone get up at 3 a.m. to count birds in the pouring rain?
My short documentary The Birdwatchers is coming to the end of its festival run and it has been thrilling to share it with audiences up and down the country and even in Colombia, where I muddled through an introduction in Spanish.
To date, the film has been:
selected for ten film festivals,
nominated for eight awards, and
won three.
I wanted to give it a dedicated space on Urban Nature Diary for anyone who hasn’t been able to make it to a screening.
I’m fortunate to live right beside Walthamstow Wetlands, the largest urban wetlands in Europe and a stone’s throw from central London. This film is in equal parts a love letter to my home, a celebration of the natural world, a thank you to the inspiring people working to conserve nature, and a rallying cry to protect it.
When I set out to make The Birdwatchers, I said to myself that if it encouraged just one person to take action to combat our environmental crises then it would have been a success. To even be screened anywhere other than my family’s living room is something I am hugely proud of.
So I hope you take 14 minutes out of your day to watch it, and let me know in the comments what you think.
If you’re having trouble viewing the film, try watching it on Vimeo instead.
Special thanks to London Wildlife Trust for providing access and insights. You can support their work here.
The Birdwatchers is free to watch, but it wasn’t free to make. If you’d like to support more projects like this, consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Directed, shot and edited by Thomas Winward
Original music composed by Michael J McEvoy
Colour graded by Zanna Berry
Featuring Clare McGann, Rianna Badesha, Lira Valencia and Caroline Nash.
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