On February 25, 2022 filmmakers Frédéric Moffet, Joelle Mercedes, and Deborah Stratman joined Block Cinema for a conversation on their short films centered on birds and birdwatching practices.
With works by Kevin Jerome Everson, Margaret Tait, Frédéric Moffet, Deborah Stratman, and additional artists, the program explored human-avian relationships from a variety of formal, emotional, and conceptual perspectives.
I often think about birding as a complete slowing down. It’s interesting to see how all the films in the program felt very slow; even in the intermissions while switching reels and playing the next film, there’s a moment of darkness—even more slowness. And I really like that because it activates all the senses that are available to you. I wanted to go back to 16mm because I felt like the slowness of the medium, its intentionality would pair really well in thinking about parks, thinking about birds, thinking about space and time and light.
—Joelle Mercedes on the relationship between birdwatching practices and filmmaking practices
Listen to the conversation
Films Screened
- Brown Thrasher (2020, 3 min, digital) Kevin Jerome Everson
- Aerial (1974, 4 min, 16mm) Margaret Tait
- come wishes be horses (2016, 8 min, 16mm) Rebecca Meyers
- Observeillance (1975, 3 min, 16mm) Tyler Turkle
- The Very Big Crow (2021, 3 min, 16mm to digital)
- Joelle Mercedes The Magic Hedge (2016, 9 min, digital ) Frédéric Moffet
- Birdsaver Report Volume 2 (버드세이버 보고서 제 2장) (2021,11.5 min, digital) Heehyun Choi
- Bird-cams (2008, 8 mins, Video) Sam Easterson
- Ray’s Birds (2010, 7 min, 16mm) Deborah Stratman
- Cardinal (2019, 2:30 min, 16mm transferred to digital) Kevin Jerome Everson
