Watching People Watching Birds

“One of the reasons wild birds are so important is that they represent our last, best connection to a natural world that is otherwise disappearing.” These are the words of author Jonathan Franzen, a passionate birdwatcher. While bird populations and species decline worldwide, more and more people are discovering birdwatching. Through binoculars, they seek something primal and unique. Politically urgent, serious yet also humorous, the film conveys the magic of this passion, capable of sharpening the senses and responding to the global ecological crisis. And the birds become, in a captivating and almost uncanny way, a metaphor for the state of our planet.