Long one of France's most respected producers (Academy Award Winners “Z” and “Black and White in Color”) and actors (“Z,” “Cinema Paradiso,” “The Young Girls of Rochefort,” “Donkey Skin” and “The Brotherhood of the Wolf”), Jacques Perrin (Director, Writer, Producer) has more recently had a highly successful career creating films about nature, including “Le Peuple Singe” (monkeys) and “Microcosmos” (insects) and set in exotic locales (“Himalaya”). His most recent project "Winged Migration" was released in theaters in North America this summer and was both critically acclaimed and a commercial success. Winged Migration is a homage to birds and their staggering feats of migraton.
Surfbirds: Winged Migration has received rave reviews in the birding internet newsgroups from birdwatchers all over the world. The film also played very well for non bird-enthusiasts. Were you concerned about making sure the film had a broad appeal?
Jacques Perrin: I am never preoccupied with the outcome of a film I really want to make. You don't make a film in trying to define the audience's profile. You have to approach your subject with rigour and try to appeal to the audience by making it discover the singularity of your approach.
Surfbirds: What was the most fascinating thing about birds that you learned whilst making the film?
Jacques Perrin: I have been really fascinated with the stubbornness birds are able to show for their survival, their resistance to all difficulties, their courage, as human beings would say.
Surfbirds: What happened to the birds after filming ended? Did they stay with their imprinted parents?
Jacques Perrin: A number of bird-parents have stayed in Normandy where the film was created and developed, to take care of the birds that remained. Some birds were entrusted to specialized reserves with which we had developed contacts along the shooting of the film
Surfbirds: After 3 years filming and 5 different film crews, Winged Migration must have been an expensive undertaking. Do you think it's success, however, will mean we can look forward to more films of this genre in the future?
Jacques Perrin: If filming Winged Migration was an expensive undertaking, its success, however provides hope for more films of this kind ! Yes, we can look forward to another film at least which I am right now preparing !
Surfbirds: After Microcosmos and Winged Migration, any plans to go back to making movies with human stars or will your next film also be about the natural world?
Jacques Perrin: I have quite a number of movies in project with human stars!
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