Winged Migration (2001) Le peuple migrateur (original title)

Directors:

Jacques Perrin
Jacques Cluzaud (co-director)
(more)

Writers:

Jacques Perrin
Valentine Marvel (idea)
(more)

Release Date:

12 December 2001 (Belgium)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Documentary on the migratory patterns of birds, shot over the course of three years on all seven continents.

Plot Keywords:

Bird | Migration | Arctic | Ocean | Flight

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Philippe Labro	...	Narrator (English version)
Jacques Perrin	...	Narrator (voice)

Directed by
Jacques Perrin
Jacques Cluzaud		(co-director)
Michel Debats		(co-director)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jean Dorst
Stéphane Durand
Guy Jarry
Valentine Marvel		idea (as Valentine Perrin)
Jacques Perrin
Francis Roux

Produced by
Christophe Barratier	....	producer
Reinhard Brundig	....	associate producer
Jean de Trégomain	....	executive producer
Danièle Delorme	....	associate producer
Jean-Marc Henchoz	....	associate producer
Jean Labadie	....	associate producer
José María Morales	....	associate producer
Andrea Occhipinti	....	associate producer
Jacques Perrin	....	producer
Yves Robert	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Bruno Coulais

Cinematography by
Olli Barbé
Michel Benjamin
Sylvie Carcedo
Laurent Charbonnier
Luc Drion
Laurent Fleutot
Philippe Garguil
Dominique Gentil
Bernard Lutic
Thierry Machado
Stéphane Martin
Fabrice Moindrot
Ernst Sasse
Michel Terrasse
Thierry Thomas

Film Editing by
Marie-Josèphe Yoyotte

Production Design by
Régis Nicolino

Production Management
Jean-Philippe Avenel	....	assistant unit manager
Philippe Baisadouli	....	production manager
Olli Barbé	....	production manager
Brian Black	....	unit manager
Claude Canaple	....	production manager
Jean-Michel Deroche	....	production manager
Claire Dornoy	....	assistant production manager
Philippe Gautier	....	production manager
Nicolas Mauvernay	....	assistant production manager
Boucif Mohammedi	....	assistant unit manager
Johann Mousseau	....	unit production manager
Thomas Pflimlin	....	unit manager
Vincent Steiger	....	production manager
Charles Stenhouse	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jérémie Apperry	....	assistant director
Elodie Baticle	....	assistant director
Emmanuelle Debats	....	assistant director
Marie Miquel	....	assistant director
Ursula Sigon	....	assistant director
Hadrien Soulez Larivière	....	assistant director
Frédéric Vignal	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Philippe Barbeau	....	sound
Michel Crivellaro	....	sound editor
Denis Guilhem	....	sound
Gérard Lamps	....	sound re-recording mixer
Laurent Lévy	....	foley artist
Armelle Mahé	....	assistant sound mixer
Gina Pignier	....	sound editor
Laurent Quaglio	....	supervising sound editor
Michel Trouillard	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Nicolas David	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Manfred Büttner	....	visual effects producer
Erich Eder	....	digital compositor
Hubert Fourneaux	....	visual effects coordinator
Fabien Girodot	....	visual effects supervisor
Robert Pinnow	....	visual effects coordinator
Dina Saleem	....	visual effects
Caterina Schiffers	....	digital compositor: postproduction, TVT
Florian Schuck	....	retouching
Benjamin Seide	....	digital compositor
Max Stummer	....	digital compositor

Camera and Electrical Department
Jean-Paul Agostini	....	first assistant camera
David Aïm	....	first assistant camera
Sylvain Bardoux	....	key grip
Pierre Bec	....	camera operator
Pierre Berthier	....	camera operator
Vincent Blasco	....	key grip
Guillaume Brault	....	second assistant camera
Catherine Briault	....	first assistant camera
Maurice Bricler	....	grip
Richard Brodet	....	gaffer
Claire Caroff	....	assistant camera
Tony Chapuis	....	second assistant camera
Pierre Chevrin	....	assistant camera
Nicolas Deblonde	....	second assistant camera
Dominique Delguste	....	first assistant camera
Jean-Marie Delorme	....	assistant camera
Alain Ducousset	....	camera operator
Pascale Ferradini	....	first assistant camera
Jean-Yves Freess	....	key grip
Colin Houben	....	first assistant camera
Maxime Héraud	....	camera operator
Hervé Kern	....	assistant camera
Cyril Lebre	....	assistant camera
Sophie Leonetti	....	assistant camera
Sergeï Lourié	....	grip
Sylvain Maillard	....	assistant camera
Benoît Nicoulin	....	camera operator
Lee Parker	....	camera operator
Christophe Perotin	....	assistant camera
François Perrault-Alix	....	key grip
Christophe Pottier	....	camera operator
François Quillard	....	first assistant camera
Edgar Raclot	....	grip
Mathieu Simonet	....	still photographer
Piotr Stadnicki	....	first assistant camera (as Pierre Stadnicki)
Anna-Katia Vincent	....	second assistant camera
Patrick Vobecourt	....	gaffer
Yuan Zhang	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Colette Beltran	....	assistant editor
Pauline Casalis	....	assistant editor
Bruno Patin	....	color timer

Music Department
Paul Lavergne	....	executive music producer

Transportation Department
Philippe Lebreton	....	driver: camera car

Other crew
Isabelle Kostic Crosley	....	location manager
Valentine Marvel	....	idea (as Valentine Perrin)
Sally Steele	....	publicist

Thanks
Jean Dorst	....	dedicatee
Bernard Lutic	....	dedicatee

Production Companies

• Bac Films
• Canal+
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)
• Commission Européenne
• Conseil Général de l'Aveyron
• Conseil Régional de Basse Normandie
• Conseil Régional de Franche-Comté
• Conseil Régional de la Lozère
• Conseil Régional du Calvados
• Conseil Régional du Languedoc-Roussillon
• Crédit Agricole
• EDF
• Eurimages
• Eyescreen S.r.l.
• Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen
• France 2 Cinéma
• France 3 Cinéma
• Galatée Films
• Les Productions JMH
• Les Productions de la Guéville
• Liliane Bettencourt au Nom de la Bettencourt Schuller
• Pandora Filmproduktion
• Primagaz
• Procirep
• Télévision Suisse-Romande (TSR)
• Wanda Visión S.A.
• Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)

Distributors

• A-Film Distribution (2002) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Bac Films (2001) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Nordisk Film Distributors (2003) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Distribution Company (2004) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Herald Film Company (2003) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Kinowelt Filmverleih (2002) (Germany) (theatrical) (distribution supported by Filmstiftung NRW)
• Lucky Red (2002) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Mongrel Media (2003) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2003) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Future Film (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Nelonen (2007) (Finland) (TV)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2003) (Finland) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2005) (Finland) (TV) (two part version)

Special Effects

• tvt. postproduction

Other Companies

• SIF309 Film & Music Productions  film score recording
• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack

Also Known As:

"Le peuple migrateur" - France (original title)
"The Travelling Birds" - International (English title)

Runtime:

98 min | Canada:81 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | USA:89 min | Argentina:92 min

Country:

France | Italy | Germany | Spain | Switzerland

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Australia:G | Denmark:A | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Netherlands:AL | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:G | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:0 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:U | USA:G | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Iceland:L | Finland:K-3 | South Korea:All

Filming Locations:

Abbaye, Mont Saint-Michel, Manche, France

Company:

Bac Films

Trivia:

Jacques Perrin says in his commentary that his team tried to include emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) in the film, but weather conditions interfered, so they had to be satisfied with king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) instead. Some years later, the makers of March of the Penguins (2005) succeeded in making an emperor penguin movie.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator:The story of bird migration is the story of promise - a promise to return.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Weeds: You Can't Miss the Bear (#1.1)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

To Be By Your Side

Amazing Photography Should Awe About Everyone Who Sees This

Here is a beautifully-filmed documentary on the migration of birds. This movie took four years to make, and one can see why. You cannot get much closer, I would think, to the flying birds than what you see here. Cameras were literally attached to some of the birds so you, the viewer, are up there in the sky right with these (mainly) geese as they migrant thousands of miles.

The colors are beautiful and the sound is good. However, be warned there is no dialog so it can be tough viewing the whole 90 minutes in one sitting. Also, I found the best and most interesting footage at the beginning.

Nevertheless, this is a good addition to anyone's collection if or no other reason than the magnificent photography and the effort filmmakers put out to make this wildlife documentary. It also is interesting how they show different species every few minutes, where they go each year, how many miles they travel, the exact route, etc. Wildlife and bird-lovers in particular, should love this film.