Estimated to be finished in the last week of June 2026

This graduation project is an experimental documentary with an estimated duration of 30-40 minutes. 

Based on the topic of my bachelor's thesis, I am trying to find answers surrounding the question whether birds feel joy while flying, as well as making connections between the unique emotions of birds and the unique experiences of queer and neurodivergent humans, and futhermore the opression they share. 

With this project, I am weaving together aspects of (queer) ecofeminism, critical animal studies, affective science, and neurodiversity studies—in an attempt to challenge the predominant understanding of non-human affect, and the stigma of otherness.

Thereby the film takes a philosophical angle in the way topics and questions are being approached, while also including scientific findings and expert-opinions in addition to my personal thoughts and theories. 

It consists of three interviews with experts, stitched together and complemented by my own voice over. This combination of voices is the narrative backbone which is accompanied by different types of visuals. Ranging from realistic footage of, for exmple, birds—being quite literally related to the narration, up to heavily altered abstract clips that reflect the narrative elements on a more experimental level. On top of that, some of the abstract footage is based on the voices and songs of birds themselves, meaning that these are audio-reactive visuals. 

The abstract visuals and the parts with bird voices are giving some space for the audience to process all the information, as well as time to develop their own thoughts on the arguments and become aware of their own emotions. 

Below are several short samples, tests, and experiments that give an impression of the film and its production process.