Fanatical birdwatchers have descended upon a small town in the Arkansas bayou in hopes of finding the celebrated Ivory Billed Woodpecker. Declared extinct in the 1940's, the bird has apparently been spotted by numerous experts over the past few months. The news is miraculous, yet concrete proof remains elusive. Increasingly, the small town becomes divided between believers and non-believers while rabid environmentalists, opportunistic small-town entrepreneurs, and disgruntled hunters vie for prominence in the ensuing chaos. Enter amateur birder and poet Johnny Neander, who has convinced his taciturn sidekick (and anyone else willing to listen) that he will be the one to find it. As he combs the bayou for clues and plunges deep into the community for leads, the hints of a very troubled soul begin to solidify - perhaps this desperate search is for something much more personal. Whatever it may be, Johnny is getting close, and what he is about to find will undermine everything he thought he knew about this Southern legend, and perhaps, himself. Much like the bird itself, "Woodpecker" stylistically explores the twilight of uncertainty between fact and fiction and the ways expectation and context can manipulate our notion of 'reality'. From its documentary underpinnings to its narrative arc, all truth becomes subjective in this existential tragicomedy about hope, perception, and some very very strange birds.
http://2008.sxsw.com/film/screenings/film/F8783.html
