Kes / The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
- This is a past program
Presented by the UCLA Film & Television Archive.
Part of the UCLA Film & Television Archive screening series Animalia. Learn more at cinema.ucla.edu.
Testudo Hermanni (2023)
A filmmaker, his mother and his tortoise. When temperatures are unpredictable in Austria for this non-native species, a mother finds a more consistent solution to care for her son’s pet.
DCP, color, 7 min. Director: G. Anthony Svatek.
Kes (1969)
15-year-old Billy Casper cannot seem to fit in or connect with much in his hometown in Northern England. That is until he forms a bond with a wild kestrel, providing him with an escape from the malaise of his daily life. In this second feature film by Ken Loach, the portrait of working-class life is unglamorous, stark and feels lived-in, given the use of nonprofessional actors and real locations. Themes often explored in Loach’s work are throughout this coming-of-age film, where optimism is tenuous and the connection between a boy and his bird are a testement to seeking something greater, to feeling connected as a necessary part of the human experience.
35mm, color, 111 min. Director: Ken Loach. Writer: Ken Loach, Tony Garnett. With: David Bradley, Colin Welland, Freddie Fletcher.
Please note: this film depicts animal death.
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (2003)
Parrots are not native to San Francisco but if you listen close enough and know where to look, you will certainly see a flock above you. Following the relationship between Mark Bittner and a flock of parrots in the Telegraph Hill neighborhood, this endearing documentary explores the relationship between an ordinary man and the birds. Less a documentary about hows and whys of the parrots and more about the symbiotic relationship they share with the man that feeds them, Parrots is a story about survival and the intimate bonds that form between animals and humans.
DCP, color, 83 min. Director: Judy Irving.
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