Finalist
The Birds
Linnud
2025
2025
2025
Entry 25-378 | United Kingdom | 2024 | 40’ | Language: English | Subtitles: Estonian
Told through the cinematic experience of wildlife filmmaker Martin Dohrn, THE BIRDS finds meaning and pathos as it gets up close to one of England's little-known wonders of the natural world. As Martin chases down the twisting and turning of giant flocks of shore birds on England’s Wash estuary, he attempts to literally record evolution in action as a peregrine falcon scythes through the mind-blowing murmurations – astonishingly large numbers of birds flying in synchronized patterns and creating shapes in the air. Ultimately, this feature short reveals important insights not only into the hidden mechanisms of nature, but also into the psyche of a man facing up to the end of his career.
Director
David Allen, Martin Dohrn
| Cinematography
Martin Dohrn
| Editing
Steve White
| Composer
Fraser Purdie, Lara Agar
| Producer
Amber Beattie, Gaby Bastyra
| Original Title
The Birds
2025
Every year, Matsalu National Park presents a special award to a film that manages to capture and convey something essential about the spirit of our national park. This time, the award goes to a film that takes us to the Wash estuary in Great Britain – a place where the sky fills with murmurations of thousands of shorebirds, moving in synchronised patterns that make the viewer’s soul resonate.
Although in Matsalu we do not see waders in such numbers, our skies too become a stage for the extraordinary flight manoeuvres of migratory birds.
It is also worth mentioning that herring gulls ringed by the well-known ornithologist Kalev Rattiste have been sighted no less than three times in Norfolk, England, where the Wash estuary is located! From across Estonia, 21 birds have been recorded there – starlings, blackbirds, reed warblers, mallards, gadwalls, goldeneyes, woodcocks, and a few black-headed gulls. This is a vivid example of how our small country is part of a great migratory journey.
2025
Mesmerising and ambitious cinematography that masterfully weaves together the everyday and the extraordinary, nature and humanity.
2025
Cinematographically stunning and narratively captivating movie about relationships between falcons and other shorebirds. The film is also driven by a character whose dry British humour keeps it lively. His relatable frustrations as a wildlife cameraman add authenticity and humour to the breathtaking natural scenes.
| Director | David Allen, Martin Dohrn |
| Cinematography | Martin Dohrn |
| Editing | Steve White |
| Composer | Fraser Purdie, Lara Agar |
| Producer | Amber Beattie, Gaby Bastyra |
| Original Title | The Birds |
| Entry Number | 25-378 |
| Country of Production |
United Kingdom
|
| Year of Production | 2024 |
| Running Time | 40’ |
| Language: | English |
| Subtitles: | Estonian |
