Pelican Dreams with Judy Irving March 15, 2012

Years before making The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, filmmaker Judy Irving had begun researching her favorite bird, the Brown Pelican. She is now in mid-production on Pelican Dreams and will show excerpts from this work in progress. The film features a young pelican that landed-tired, hungry, and confused-on the roadway of the Golden Gate Bridge, creating a spectacular traffic jam. The incident launched her search for the people who know pelicans best: seabird biologists, wildlife rehabilitators, surfers, and fishermen. With their comic personalities, their survival challenges from DDT and oil spills, their grace and ancient mystery, these "flying dinosaurs" connect us to our fragile Pacific Coast.

Producer/director Judy Irving is executive director of Pelican Media, a nonprofit production company. As a child, she spent summers on the North Fork of Long Island, where she came to love birds, thanks to her grandfather. In addition to The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, her films include Dark Circle, about nuclear weapons and nuclear power; Quiet Revolution, on sustainable development in rural areas; and a short about the Alameda Wildlife Refuge. Judy holds a masters in film and broadcasting from Stanford University and is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in film and of Sundance and Emmy awards.

Official Website: http://www.goldengateaudubon.org/education/speaker-series/