The Art of Flying

NEW DOCS

Every evening at dusk, starlings—wherever they might be nesting—will flock together to perform one of the most mysterious gestures in the natural world. Flitting to and fro, thousands fly in gyroscopic unison. Scientists still don’t know how the birds avoid colliding with one another in these elaborately choreographed murmurations. This short film makes no attempt to explain the winged ritual. No voiceover interrupts the flow. No score intrudes upon the birds’ own song. The majestic ornithological swirl speaks for itself. As the black ribbon of flight careens back and forth across the evening sky, one truth emerges: This flying isn’t an act of necessity. It’s an act of sublime artistic expression.  TAW

Director

Jan van Ijken

Editor

Jan van Ijken

Cinematographer

Jan van Ijken

Release Year

2015

Festival Year

2016

Country

Netherlands

Run Time

7 minutes

Subtitled

No dialogue