2013 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: Rob Meyer’s A Birder’s Guide to Everything

Rob Meyer’s A Birder’s Guide to Everything is another example of how Sundance champions filmmakers who use the premise, structure, formula of their short as the basis for an eventual feature-length debut. Meyer was at the 2008 edition with Aquarium, spent a couple of years from on other folks’ films in different capacities and it is in 2010 that the feature length film starting gaining traction with the Sloan Science-in-Film Initiative Fellowship (the vid below best demonstrates how the short morphed into a feature). Featuring Ben Kingsley (see on set pic), Kodi Smit-McPhee and James LeGros, production on the coming-of-ager began in May and post started in August.

Gist: Written by Meyer and Luke Matheny, after spotting what he thinks is an extinct duck, high school sophomore and bird enthusiast David Portnoy (Kodi Smit-McPhee) persuades his two dorky buddies and the “new girl in school” to join him on a quest to locate the mysterious bird. What begins as a simple and straightforward mission becomes a coming-of-age adventure for all involved, particularly David, who must come to terms with some painful aspects of his family life.

Production Co./Producers: dreamFly prod’s Kirsten Duncan Fuller and Lisa K. Jenkins, Crossroad Films’ Dan Lindau, Nightshade’s R. Paul Miller.

Prediction: U.S. Dramatic Competition

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available