Shawn Hayes leads a life of devotion. For him, falconry is more than a deep partnership with raptors: it’s his life’s work.

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2022 / 25 Min

Shawn Hayes leads a life of devotion. For him, falconry is more than a deep partnership with raptors: it’s his life’s work. As an American falconry ambassador, he’s carved a space for himself where people of color haven’t always been welcome. It’s taken him across the globe, into strongholds of tradition and conservation. This film is about more than what humans can train birds to do—it’s about what those birds can teach us about living in partnership with wild creatures and wild places.

The Filmmakers

Josh Izenberg

Josh Izenberg is a documentary filmmaker based in Oakland, California. His projects have covered surfing veterans, the search for extraterrestrial life, and controversial approaches to addiction rehab in Peru. His short documentary, SLOMO, won over a dozen awards, including best short documentary at SXSW, the IDA award, and premiered as a New York Times op-doc and his film, RESURFACE, won the Jury Prize at Tribeca, was acquired by Netflix, and was nominated for an Emmy.

Brett Marty

Brett Marty cut his teeth as a commercial director and made the transition to filmmaking with a handful of documentary projects and his narrative directorial debut, YOUTH, which won a handful of jury awards and played at more than 30 festivals, including Cannes. His latest docs have been commissioned or featured by The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and National Geographic. In previous lives, he studied ceramic sculpture at UC Berkeley, drove an old Buick from San Francisco to Argentina, and helped Nate Silver launch Five Thirty Eight in 2008.