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Bird film image; woman floating in water

Bird

Special Presentations

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Street-smart 12-year-old Bailey (played by terrific newcomer Nykiya Adams) lives in a graffiti-tagged squat near the British seaside with her reckless half-brother Hunter (Jason Buda) and her heavily tattooed man-child father, Bug (a perfectly chaotic Barry Keoghan), who’s rushing into a wedding he can’t afford to a woman he barely knows. Adrift in the confusion of adolescence, Bailey finds a kindred spirit in a magnetic stranger named Bird (Franz Rogowski), whose quest to find his estranged family leads Bailey to confront her own mother’s abusive new boyfriend.

This touching coming-of-age drama from three-time Cannes Jury Prize-winning filmmaker Andrea Arnold (American Honey; Fish Tank) matches seasoned actors Keoghan and Rogowski with an authentic cast of first-time performers. With its inventive editing, killer soundtrack, and top-notch cinematography by Robbie Ryan (Poor Things), the film immerses us in the hidden beauty of North Kent through Bailey’s young eyes. The result is a tender portrait of girlhood on the fringes, with a magical realist twist.

Director
Cast

Barry Keoghan, Franz Rogowski, Nykiya Adams

Credits
Country of Origin

UK/USA/France/Germany

Year

2024

Language

English

Film Contact
18+
119 min
Drama Family Relations Women Directors
Ad Vitam Production, Arte France Cinema, House Productions

Book Tickets

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Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Claude Amadeo, Mollye Asher, Len Blavatnik, Jessamine Burgum, Danny Cohen, Michael D’Alto, Kara Durrett, Randal Sandler, Chris Triana, Eva Yates

Producer

Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell, Lee Groombridge

Screenwriter

Andrea Arnold

Cinematography

Robbie Ryan

Editor

Joe Bini

Production Design

Maxine Carlier

Andrea Arnold headshot; Bird director

Andrea Arnold

Andrea Arnold studied directing at the AFI Conservatory and won an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for Wasp in 2005. Her debut film, Red Road, won the Jury Prize at Cannes in 2006, and Fish Tank received the Jury Prize and a BAFTA for Best British Film in 2009. Arnold’s other works include Wuthering Heights (2011), American Honey (2016), and the documentary Cow (2021). In 2024, Arnold premiered her latest film Bird at Cannes and was honoured with the Carrosse d’Or Award.

Filmography: Red Road (2006); Fish Tank (2009); Wuthering Heights (2011); American Honey (2016); Cow (2021)

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