The award-winning documentary film, The Messenger, is coming to Almonte TONIGHT JANUARY 19
Canadian Director Su Rynard’s visionary film will be showing for one night only at Almonte Old Town Hall. Since its world premiere at Toronto’s 2015 Hot Docs Film Festival, The Messenger has impressed audiences around the world. This essential film has significant global implications and argues that the decline of songbirds signals an uncertain shift in an already fragile ecosystem, while warning that the uncertain fate of songbirds mirrors our own. Screening information is as follows: 7 PM, Thursday, January 19 at Almonte Old Town Hall. Admission is $5, with all proceeds to Bird Studies Canada (BSC), “The Messenger” Impact Campaign. The screening, hosted by the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists, will be followed by a Q and A discussion. Note that admission is free for MVFN members. However, for those who wish to donate to BSC, donations will be accepted on film night and at the Jan 6 MVFN Pub Night.
The films director had noticed birds “disappearing” from around her family cottage NE of Toronto: “For me, the first step was to simply stop, listen and see for myself what was going on in the skies above. The next step [was] this film” said Rynard. Indeed, according to Dr. Bridget Stutchbury, author of Silence of the Songbirds,
“What we’re seeing with these songbird declines is 40 or 50 years in a row of the populations getting lower and lower. So we have only half the birds we did back in the 1960’s.”
Beautifully filmed in Canada (Toronto, Alberta’s boreal forest, and elsewhere), Costa Rica, Germany, France, The Netherlands and the USA, The Messenger excels, with an international panel of remarkable participants— expert scientists and artists whose insightful knowledge and passion movie-goers strongly connect with. To name a few: Dr. Bridget Stutchbury; University of Saskatchewan’s, Dr. Christy Morrisey, the young eco-toxicologist whose research on impacts of new pesticides on prairie farmland and wetland birds is revealing vital clues to what’s going wrong; German composer/DJ Dominik Eulberg whose contribution “reconciled his love of ornithology, with his talent, skill and experience in techno music”; and ecologist Alejandra Martinez-Salinas, in Costa Rica, whose current work focuses on the role of birds in control of coffee berry borer, an important coffee pest worldwide.
“Without a doubt, The Messenger is the most outstanding film I’ve seen on birds. The fact that it is so strongly science-based, so emotive in its pitch, so beautiful in its design it captivates me and everyone who has had a chance to see it” says Steven Price, President, Bird Studies Canada:
The Messenger brings hope also. Rynard: “In ancient times, to predict the future, humans looked to the flights and songs of birds. Today once more, the birds have something to tell us.” [Ultimately]: “I believe people are compassionate, intelligent, and capable of change. Real change occurs when people begin to positively care, and you can feel this in the film . . . we have launched an impact campaign with Bird Studies Canada birdscanada.org. We aim to connect people who care with ways they can help.”
Film Screening details:
Date: Thursday, January 19th, 2017
Time: 7 PM (doors open 6:30 PM)
Place: Almonte Old Town Hall, 14 Bridge St., Almonte, ON
Admission: Tickets are $5 at the door, with all proceeds going to the Bird Studies Canada (BSC) ‘The Messenger’ Impact Campaign. Admission is free for MVFN members. However, for those who wish, donations towards BSC will be accepted on film screening night or at the Jan 6 MVFN Pub Night. Refreshments will be available at the event. The film will be followed by an audience Q & A discussion.
