BIRDSONG

Three men in loose robes and espadrilles make their way through desert, mountains and wind-swept stone plains. They are the Three Wise Men on their way to the newborn Messiah – though there is little sign of devotion. They rest, argue about the route, bathe, sleep and tell each other odd dreams in which each tries to outdo the other. The destination stays distant for a long time; the journey itself is the film. “Birdsong” (El cant dels ocells, Spain 2008) by the Catalan director Albert Serra tells the biblical journey as a walk through landscape and time.

Serra took the material from a Catalan Christmas carol in which more than thirty species of bird sing of the birth of Christ. As in his first feature, he works with non-professional actors and an improvised script that fitted on just a few pages; the plot is reduced to a minimum, with the shots carried by earth and sky. The film premiered in 2008 in the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes. “Birdsong” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2009 – together with Mark Peranson’s making-of “Waiting for Sancho”, made during the shoot.

Shown at the 2009 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2009 · Film Archive