The Ornithologist

Fernando, a solitary ornithologist, is looking for black storks, a species under threat, along a remote river in northern Portugal, when he is swept away by the rapids. Rescued by a couple of Chinese pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela, he plunges into an eerie and dark forest, trying to get back on his track. But gradually, as he encounters unexpected and uncanny obstacles and people who put him to the test, Fernando is impelled to extreme actions which transform him. Little by little, he becomes a different man, inspired, multi-faceted and finally, totally enlightened. (Locarno Festival)