Winged Migration

Production

The movie was shot over the course of four years on all seven continents. It was shot using in-flight cameras, most of the footage is aerial, and the viewer appears to be flying alongside birds of successive species, especially Canada geese. They traverse every kind of weather and landscape, covering vast distances in a flight for survival. The filmmakers exposed over 590 miles of film to create an 89-minute piece. In one case, two months of filming in one location was edited down to less than one minute in the final film.

Much of the aerial footage was taken of "tame" birds. The filmmakers raised birds of several species, including storks and pelicans, from birth. The newborn birds imprinted on staff members, and were trained to fly along with the film crews. The birds were also exposed to the film equipment over the course of their lives to ensure that the birds would react the way the filmmakers want. Several of these species had never been imprinted before. Film was shot from ultralights, paragliders, and hot air balloons, as well as trucks, motorcycles, motorboats, remote-controlled robots, and a French Navy warship. Its producer says that "Winged Migration" is neither a documentary nor fiction, but rather a "natural tale".

The film states that no special effects were used in the filming of the birds, although some entirely CGI segments that view Earth from outer space augment the real-life footage.

The film's soundtrack by Bruno Coulais was recorded by Bulgarian vocal group Bulgarka Junior Quartet in Bulgarian, as well as Nick Cave in English and Robert Wyatt. The vocal effects include sequences in which panting is superimposed on wingbeats to give the effect that the viewer is a bird.

Release Date

Reception

Winged Migration has an overall approval rating of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. By gross ticket sales, the film still holds seventh place in nature documentaries and eighteenth in documentary overall.

Awards and honors

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. It won "Best Editing" at the 27th César Awards, where it was also nominated for "Best Music" and "Best Debut".

• Oscar 2003 Best Documentary Feature (nominated) -Jacques Perrin

• European Film Award 2002 Best Documentary Feature (nominated) -Jacques Perrin

• CFCA Award 2004 Best Cinematography (nominated) -Laurent Charbonnier Best Cinematography (nominated) -Luc Drion Best Cinematography (nominated) -Laurent Fleutot Best Cinematography (nominated) -Sylvie Carcedo Best Cinematography (nominated) -Philippe Garguil Best Cinematography (nominated) -Olli Barbé Best Cinematography (nominated) -Dominique Gentil Best Cinematography (nominated) -Thierry Machado Best Cinematography (nominated) -Stéphane Martin Best Cinematography (nominated) -Fabrice Moindrot Best Cinematography (nominated) -Ernst Sasse Best Cinematography (nominated) -Thierry Thomas Best Cinematography (nominated) - Michel Terrasse Best Documentary (nominated)

• Chicago Film Critics Circle Awards 2004 Best Cinematography (nominated) - Bernard Luti Best Cinematography (nominated) - Michel Benjamin

• César 2002 Best Editing (Meilleur montage) Marie-Josèphe Yoyotte Best First Work (Meilleure première oeuvre) (nominated) - Michel Debats Best First Work (Meilleure première oeuvre) (nominated) - Jacques Cluzaud

• The European Film Award 2002 Best Documentary Award (Nominated) - Jacques Cluzaud Best Documentary Award (Nominated) - Michel Debats