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Su Rynard • Canada, France, Costa Rica, Germany, Netherlands, Turkey, United States • 2015

An encompassing vision of the lives of songbirds and their integral role in wider ecosystems.

For thousands of years, songbirds have been regarded as spiritual creatures, a link between the firmament and the mortal world. Today, they remain prescient as harbingers of wider ecological collapse. The prevalence of pesticides, climate change, and habitat destruction increasingly threaten their ability to survive. As their populations dwindle across the globe, an intrepid group of ornithologists, biologists and ecologists race to pinpoint the factors that threaten songbirds and advocate for their future.

Featuring mesmerizing high-speed cinematography of these majestic creatures in flight, The Messenger offers an encompassing vision of the lives of songbirds and their integral role in wider ecosystems. Su Rynard’s third film premiered at Hot Docs; Missoula International Wildlife Film Festival, where it won Best Documentary; and Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, where it won Best Conservation Program. The Messenger is a New York Times Critic's Pick.