''A.K.A. Birdseye'' is a Swiss 2002

crime comedy Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

film directed by Stephen Beckner and Michael C. Huber and starring

Fred Ward Freddie Joe Ward (December 30, 1942 – May 8, 2022) was an American actor and producer. Starting with a role in an Italian television movie in 1973, he appeared in such diverse films as '' Escape from Alcatraz'', ''Southern Comfort'', '' The R ...

Background

The film is a

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

and was shot in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. Ward's scenes were shot in Colorado, but with special effects added to the location in Zürich. Before its official release the film premiered at the

Locarno Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, s ...

on August 7, 2002.

Cast

as Nolan Sharpless * Stefan Kurt as "Birdseye" / Urs Vogelsaug / Rolf Meili *

Frederick Koehler Frederick Koehler (born June 16, 1975) is an American actor best known for his role as Chip Lowell on ''Kate & Allie'' as well as Andrew Schillinger on the HBO drama ''Oz''. Later life After ''Kate & Allie'', Koehler attended Carnegie Mellon U ...

as Ben Sharpless *

Johnny Whitworth Johnny Whitworth (born October 31, 1975) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as A.J. in ''Empire Records'' (1995), as Donny Ray Black in Francis Ford Coppola's ''The Rainmaker (1997 film), The Rainmaker'' (1997), as Vernon Gant in ''L ...

as Trent Doone *

Amy Hathaway Amy Hathaway (born 1974) is an American actress. She has appeared in the films ''Mutts'', and '' Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects''. She had major co-starring roles in ''Last Exit to Earth'', '' Joyride'', and ''Gemini Rising''. She is also known fo ...

as Heidi Logan *

Jaimz Woolvett James "Jaimz" Woolvett (born April 14, 1967) is a Canadian actor. Woolvett's highest-profile role was the Schofield Kid, a near-sighted aspiring gun-fighter in Clint Eastwood's Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, a ...

as "Fingers" *

Beth Grant Beth Grant (born September 18, 1949) is an American character actress. Between 2012 and 2017, she was a series regular on the television comedy ''The Mindy Project'' in the role of Beverly Janoszewski. She is also known for her role as Gracie L ...

as Ruth Betters *

Michael Horse Michael Horse (born Michael James Heinrich; December 21, 1949) is an American actor known for his portrayals of Native American characters in film and television. Early life Horse was born Michael James Heinrich near Tucson, Arizona, on Decem ...

as Pete Longshadow * Kevin Quinn as Marty * R. Lee Ermey as Sheriff Gathers *

Lisa Blount Lisa Suzanne Blount (July 1, 1957 – October 27, 2010) was an American film and television actress, and Academy Award-winning producer. Early life Blount was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to Margaret Louise Martin and Glen Roscoe Blount, ...

as Vicky Sharpless *

Pato Hoffmann Erwin Eduardo Hoffmann-Alarcon (born 23 August 1956) is a Bolivian actor and theater director who has performed in such films as '' Geronimo: An American Legend'', '' Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee'', '' Cheyenne Warrior'' and '' The Last ...

Alvin Karpis Alvin Francis Karpis (born Albin Francis Karpavičius; August 10, 1907 – August 26, 1979), a Depression-era gangster nicknamed "Creepy" for his sinister smile and called "Ray" by his gang members, was a Canadian-born (naturalized American) crim ...

Iqbal Theba Iqbal Theba (pronounced ; born December 20, 1963) is a Pakistani actor. Theba is best known for his recurring role as Principal Figgins in the show ''Glee''. Early life Theba was born in Karachi, Pakistan. He belongs to the Theba clan, a Gujara ...

as Puneet Ristani * Other actors including Hanspeter Müller,

Stephanie Glaser Stephanie Glaser in 2009 Stephanie Glaser (22 February 1920 – 14 January 2011) was one of Switzerland's most prominent stage, TV and film actresses, popular for her portrayal of down-to-earth, sympathetic characters. Biography Stephanie Glase ...

, Mike Müller, Brian Howe, Brigitte Beyeler, Patti Allison and

Jeanne Zelasko Jeanne Zelasko (born October 26, 1966) is an American journalist and sportscaster who worked for "The Beast" AM980 KFWB and Fox Sports West in Los Angeles County, California. Prior to taking that position Zelasko had a relatively lengthy career w ...

External links

Birdseye on Vimeo
Complete movie * 2002 films English-language Swiss films 2000s crime comedy films Films set in the United States 2002 comedy films 2000s English-language films {{Switzerland-film-stub