On 14 November 2005, a sparrow was shot dead in the northern Netherlands after toppling 23,000 of 4.3 million dominoes that had been laid out for a television event. The death of the sparrow became a trigger for a chain reaction, leading to protests around the world. On the same day, German soldier died in Afghanistan.
Filmmaker Philip Scheffner, a life-long bird watcher, applies elements of the nature film to the ends of a meticulous and fascinating docu-thriller in analyzing these seemingly unrelated events.
The Day of the Sparrow follows connections between sparrows and humans from Leeuwarden to the Buechel air base in the Mosel valley, the villages and forests of the Eifel region, the coast of the Baltic Sea, and cities Bonn and Berlin.
An interview with the man who shot the most famous sparrow in the world. The official bird control unit at Leeuwarden NATO base. Phone conversations with a Bundeswehr PR officer, in an unsuccessful attempt for access. German PsyOps in Afghanistan, the production and distribution of kites. The arrest and trial process of a birdwatcher on terrorism charges. Explosions on the horizon of a peaceful Baltic Sea in holiday season. Sparrows are disappearing. Nobody knows why.
Filmmaker Philip Scheffner, a life-long bird watcher, applies elements of the nature film to the ends of a meticulous and fascinating docu-thriller in analyzing these seemingly unrelated events.
The Day of the Sparrow follows connections between sparrows and humans from Leeuwarden to the Buechel air base in the Mosel valley, the villages and forests of the Eifel region, the coast of the Baltic Sea, and cities Bonn and Berlin.
An interview with the man who shot the most famous sparrow in the world. The official bird control unit at Leeuwarden NATO base. Phone conversations with a Bundeswehr PR officer, in an unsuccessful attempt for access. German PsyOps in Afghanistan, the production and distribution of kites. The arrest and trial process of a birdwatcher on terrorism charges. Explosions on the horizon of a peaceful Baltic Sea in holiday season. Sparrows are disappearing. Nobody knows why.
