''A Birder's Guide to Everything'' is a 2013 independent film starring

Kodi Smit-McPhee Kodi Smit-McPhee (born 13 June 1996) is an Australian actor. He gained recognition as a child actor for his leading roles in ''The Road'' (2009) and '' Let Me In'' (2010). In 2021, Smit-McPhee garnered critical acclaim for his performance as Pe ...

Alex Wolff Alexander Draper Wolff (born November 1, 1997) is an American actor and musician. He first gained recognition for starring alongside his older brother Nat in the Nickelodeon musical comedy series '' The Naked Brothers Band'' (2007–09), which ...

, Michael Chen,

Katie Chang Katherine Chang (born May 3, 1995) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Rebecca Ahn in ''The Bling Ring'' (2013), Ellen Reeves in '' A Birder's Guide to Everything'' (2013) and Claire Connors in '' The Outcasts'' (2017). Early l ...

, James Le Gros,

Daniela Lavender Daniela Lavender, Lady Kingsley ( Barbosa de Carneiro; 14 December 1974) is a Brazilian actress, appearing on Brazilian television and on English-language television, film and stage, including touring with the British Shakespeare Company. Ear ...

and

Sir Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and two ...

. It was written by Rob Meyer and

Luke Matheny Luke Matheny (born December 23, 1976) is an American actor, writer, and director. Matheny is an Academy Award winner, receiving the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for '' God of Love''. Early years Matheny was born in Mechanicsburg, ...

and directed by Rob Meyer. The film had its world premiere at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...

on April 21, 2013, and was released in a limited release and through

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

on March 21, 2014, by

Screen Media Films Screen Media Ventures, LLC. is an American-Canadian distribution company founded in 2001. In 2008, Screen Media selected The Creative Coalition as its exclusive nonprofit partner in launching the Spotlight Initiative. The partnership permits the p ...

and Focus Features.

Premise

The film follows the story of teenage

birder Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

s who go on a road trip to find the (possibly) extinct

Labrador duck The Labrador duck (''Camptorhynchus labradorius'') was a North American bird; it has the distinction of being the first known endemic North American bird species to become extinct after the Columbian Exchange, with the last known sighting occurri ...

. It was based on Rob Meyer's short film "Aquarium" which won an Honorable Mention at Sundance in 2008.

Kenn Kaufman Kenn Kaufman (born 1954) is an American author, artist, naturalist, and conservationist, known for his work on several popular field guides of birds and butterflies in North America. Born in South Bend, Indiana, Kaufman began birding at the ...

was an ornithological consultant and appears in the film at approximately 74 minutes.

Cast

as David Portnoy *

James LeGros James Le Gros () (born April 27, 1962) is an American actor. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in '' Living in Oblivion''. Career James Le Gros appeared as Rick in Gus Van Sant's 1989 ...

as Donald Portnoy *

as Juliana Santos *

as Ellen Reeves *

as Timmy Barsky * Zandi Holup as Evelyn Reed * Michael Chen as Peter Nessbaum * Tobias Campbell as Rob Lindau * Joel Van Liew as Mr. Edbrooke * Daniel G.S. Berger as Scarsdale High School Capt *

Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and tw ...

as Lawrence Konrad

Release

The film had its world premiere at the

on April 21, 2013. Shortly after it was announced

and Focus Features had acquired distribution rights to the film. The film went on to screen at the Austin Film Festival on October 26, 2013. and was released in a limited release and through

on March 21, 2014.

Reception

The film opened to very positive reviews from critics. It holds a 90% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on 21 reviews. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' described it as a "smart, likeable, coming of age film ..an eye opener for anyone who takes the everyday natural world for granted." ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'' wrote that "not since Rob Reiner's Stand by Me has such a compelling rite-of-passage film emerged." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' wrote that "you don't have to be a birder to enjoy it. The movie shows that seeking the rare and elusive is often more than just a physical quest; it also is a spiritual journey that changes the seeker."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Birder's Guide To Everything, A 2013 films 2010s English-language films