Starlings (at Nightfall)

In Peter Dudar’s hypnotic and vaguely menacing “Starlings (at Nightfall),” we are witness to a strange intersection between the forces of nature and a man-made structure. A single, static, eight-minute-long shot documents the spiraling flight of thousands of starlings around a power transmission tower at dusk. “Suppose we wanted to understand the flocking behaviour of starlings…. What is remarkable about the starlings behaviour is that, despite all appearances, there is no choreographer and, as far as we know, no leader. Each individual bird is just following local rules.” – Richard Dawkins, The Greatest Show on Earth Steam Whistle Homebrew Award, 2011 Images Festival: “In recognition of its arresting cinematic composition and elegant study of movement.”