Elder Birdsong – animation now LIVE
October 24 2019
Listen to filmmakers Shuchi Kothari and Sarina Pearson talk about the film on Te Hiku Radio.
Listen to Merryn on Radio NZ talking about the research behind Elder Birdsong.
Fresh from its world premiere at the Show Me Shorts film festival in New Zealand, Elder Birdsong is ready to take wing for other destinations. Its five-minute message delivered by an owl, a tui (voiced by Rima Te Wiata) and a couple of godwits, delivers a message about what it’s like to grow old in New Zealand. Using humour to back-up the research findings embedded in its story, Elder Birdsong delivers its message in a gentle and engaging way. The film is a collaboration between Te Arai and our filmmaking colleagues in the Faculty of Arts: Associate Professors Sarina Pearson and Shuchi Kothari who produced and directed it as well as wrote the script. It was funded by The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment as part of Merryn’s National Science Challenge grant that explored social connection, isolation and loneliness amongst older people. The research team worked in collaboration with Age Concern NZ.