''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). He provided the voice of the title character in stop-motion animations ...

, Alex Wolff, Michael Chen,

Katie Chang Katherine "Katie" Chang (born May 3, 1995) is an American former actress. She is known for her roles as Rebecca Ahn in ''The Bling Ring'' (2013) and Maddie Kim in ''Pantheon (TV series), Pantheon'' (2022). Since retiring from acting, Chang has wo ...

James Le Gros 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 role in '' Living in Oblivion''. Career Le Gros starred in Gus Van Sant's film ''Drugstore Cowboy'' ...

, Daniela Lavender and Sir Ben Kingsley. It was written by Rob Meyer and Luke Matheny 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 Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

on April 21, 2013, and was released in a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

and through

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...

on March 21, 2014, by Screen Media Films and

Focus Features Focus Features LLC is an American independent film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as a unit of Universal Pictures, which is itself a unit of Comcast's division NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and fore ...

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 such as binoculars or a telescope, ...

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

Labrador duck The Labrador duck (''Camptorhynchus labradorius'') is an extinct North American duck species. It has the distinction of being the first known endemic North American bird species to become extinct after the Columbian Exchange, with the last report ...

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

Sundance A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony. Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to: Places ;Canada * Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town ;United States * Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated pl ...

in 2008. Kenn Kaufman 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 role in '' Living in Oblivion''. Career Le Gros starred in Gus Van Sant's film '' Drugstore Cowboy ...

as Donald Portnoy * Daniela Lavender as Juliana Santos *

as Ellen Reeves * Alex Wolff 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 List of awards and nominations received by Ben Kingsley, various accolades throughout Ben Kingsley on screen and stage, his career spanning fi ...

as Lawrence Konrad

Release

The film had its world premiere at the

on April 21, 2013. Shortly after it was announced Screen Media Films and

had acquired distribution rights to the film. The film went on to screen at the

Austin Film Festival Austin Film Festival (AFF), founded in 1994, is an organization in Austin, Texas, that focuses on writers' creative contributions to film. Initially, AFF was called the Austin Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference and functioned to launch the c ...

on October 26, 2013. and was released in a

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 aggregator, 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 ...

, based on 21 reviews. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' 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 Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' 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