REVIEWS & INTERVIEWS
CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR GHOST BIRD
Download the GHOST_BIRD_PRESS_BOOK or just the Ghost Bird Pull Quotes
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Critics’ Pick!
“This spellbinding documentary takes a small item from recent history…and turns it into a cosmic lament for the forest primeval and man’s search for environmental redemption.” New York Magazine
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“Crocker has turned a bird-watching tale into a multilayered story that will fascinate practically everybody in “Ghost Bird,” a witty, wistful documentary…“ The New York Times
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“Dramatic, mysterious and thought provoking, this is a well-crafted slice of ‘eco-noir’,” Pick of the Week!, Vancouver Courier
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“Crocker calmly bears witness to the man-made erosion of natural habitat and scientific rigor, and what emerges is the wistful sense of that which true Americana consists: obtuse environmental degradation, followed by a commerce of nostalgic delusion, followed by a mindful striving for regeneration. It’s as much about nature as about human nature.” KQED
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“Ghost Bird, which follows a path of intrigue from a shadowy Arkansas swamp all the way to the Bush White House, is the documentary sleeper of the year.” SF360
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“You don’t have to be a birder to be drawn into Scott Crocker’s haunting, bittersweet documentary,” The Oregonian
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“this engrossing documentary…is impressive for its sophisticated take on blind hope: believing against all odds may be a wonderful thing, Crocker implies, but…to protect what may be a myth, other endangered species edge that much closer to becoming mythical themselves.” Chicago Reader
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“By turns comic, mesmerizing and deeply poignant, this investigative documentary is reminiscent of the work of Errol Morris in the way it casts a spell while telling a story and building a case.” Brian D. Johnson, senior entertainment writer MACLEAN’S
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“Ghost Bird” is a rare beast indeed — a matter-of-fact documentary about a seemingly innocuous subject that manages to become profoundly moving.” IFC
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“Beautifully crafted…heartbreaking, ironic and infuriating. It’s a stunner.” NPR
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“By turns witty and metaphysical, “Ghost Bird” evokes the offbeat Americana of Errol Morris’s “Vernon, Florida,” while examining the nature of belief and the blurry margins of fact.” The Wall Street Journal
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“Ghost Bird considers the ways in which collegial debate, intellectual rigor, and a collective desire for objective truth are in danger of extinction.” Artforum
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“Thanks to some unusually articulate talking heads, the film spreads out in all directions, taking in all kinds of fascinating peripheral issues—from the zero-sum game of government funding to the ongoing challenges of the scientific method.” VUE Weekly
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“Scott Crocker’s wondrously paced “Ghost Bird” is a luscious, ambient documentary…“Ghost Bird” is whip-smart, Errol Morris-smart.” New City Film
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“An air of mystery pervades the expertly constructed Ghost Bird, and like any good ghost story, what is and isn’t real is hardly apparent at the end of the film. Deeply informative and undeniably engaging...Ghost Bird possesses sharp acumen in regards to the science surrounding the mysteries of the phantom bird, sympathy for its cast of characters and a slightly detached wit that acknowledges the quirks of the obsession without condemning them.” BLOG CRITICS
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“The obsessive quest at the center of the film calls to mind the search for rare orchids in the film Adaptation.” Beth Accomando, NPR, San Diego
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“a thrilling and gripping cinematic experience…” Seattle University Spectator
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“Showing a terrific sense of pacing, Crocker lets the excitement that enveloped the town sink in just long enough before revealing the debate over whether the video even really shows the bird of dreams.” SEE Magazine
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“Equally observant, analytical and thorough as it is sombre, haunting and emotive, Ghost Bird is multi faceted in its importance as both a message of hope…and a wake up call for conservation so that the fate of the Ivory Billed Woodpecker does not end up being the fate of so many other species.” LEFT HIP
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“An excellent new documentary.” Bruce Kirkland, Toronto Sun
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“A subtle and brilliant film about the difficult relationship between nature and our presence on the planet.” Laura Buffoni, Villa Medici Program Notes
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“The section “Eye on the world” looks at our planet and the risks run by nature, offering unmissable documentaries: “The Cove,” “The End of the Line,” “Ghost Bird”.” Adamo Dagradi, Bresciaoggi
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“Fascinating…the most compelling aspect of the film is the message it carries about bird conservation and our essential role in stewarding the birds and habitats that are in our control.” Graham Chisholm, Executive Director, Audubon California
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“PHENOMENAL!!!” Richard MacDonald, Downeast Audubon
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“Smart and insightful, expertly interweaving interviews and archive footage in a way that never stops short of being captivating.” Robert Bell, exclaim!
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“Shouldn’t be missed.” Basil Tsiokos, indieWire
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“A story of loss and belief, our difficult relationship with nature and our own tragic culpability.” Elaisha Stokes, This Magazine
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“The often thrilling birdwatcher doc…insightfully tallies up the economic, environmental and social ramifications of the event…while drawing apt parallels to Bush’s war on terror.” Radheyan Simonpillai, Now Magazine
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“Philosophical and lyrical.” Kelly Anderson, realscreen
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“Funny, informative and touching.” Katrina Gligorijevic, exclaim!
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“The film searches for a bird and instead finds a zeitgeist, a time of disillusionment and economic ruin, ivory-bill haircuts and burgers..” Angie Driscoll, programmer, Hot Docs
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“Ghost Bird offers a nuanced deconstruction of the controversy surrounding recent sightings of the iconic Ivory-billed Woodpecker by examining the ontology of faith and eyewitness testimony in the context of mass extinction. Scott Crocker’s documentary poses questions that will haunt you in their insistence that we have yet to reckon with the philosophical and spiritual ramifications of the diminishment of our natural world; imperative viewing for anyone searching for clearer insight into how our fondest hopes for the restoration of species might impede our sounder judgments.” Ella Soper-Jones, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow at the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University
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“…incredibly well done. Takes you from laughing to crying to reflection while exploring the multi-faceted ways in which society interacts with and views the natural world through the story of the reported rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.” Jeff Wells, P.H.D., Ivory-bill search team member & Senior Scientist, Boreal Songbird Initiative
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“Excellent, informative and balanced, while also being very entertaining.” Trudy & Dr. James Rising, Proffessor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto & American Ornithologist’s Union Fellow
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“‘Ghost Bird’ is a hauntingly beautiful and memorable film that weaves together the scientific, philosophical and societal issues surrounding mankind’s role in species’ extinction. I included this film in the syllabus for a sophomore ecology class and it has generated an enormous amount of interest and reflection among my students, some of whom said they were moved to tears, and more importantly, to action by the film… I strongly recommend it as a teaching resource.” Dr. Monika Havelka Department of Biology University of Toronto
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“I highly recommend this film.” Herb Wilson, professor of ornithology, Colby College, Portland Press Herald
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INTERVIEWS
NPR’s Tom Williams interviews director Scott Crocker and author Christopher Cokinos (“Hope Is The Thing With Feathers”) on Access Utah
Monster Talk podcast, Skeptic Magazine
Interview with the Director at the Rome International Film Festival, FILM FANATICS
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