An intimate portrait of master falconer Rodney Stotts and his mission to build a bird sanctuary to provide access to nature for his stressed community. The film weaves Rodney's present-day mission with the story of his past, and examines their roots in social and environmental injustice. The Falconer is a story of second chances: for injured birds of prey; for an abandoned plot of land; for a group of teenagers who have dropped out of high school; and for Rodney himself.

This film contains content that may be triggering to some viewers. To view a full list of trigger warnings, visit the following link (these warnings may contain spoilers): https://airtable.com/shriAkJ0UGrg5HKep

MEET THE FILMMAKER: ANNIE KAEMPFER

Annie Kaempfer is an independent filmmaker whose work has screened at festivals including Mill Valley, Big Sky and Twin Cities. Her feature debut, The Falconer, won Best Environmental Feature at BendFilm, a Special Jury Prize at Cinema on the Bayou, and is set to air on PBS America Reframed in 2021. A Spike Lee Fellowship and Alan Landsburg Documentary Award recipient, Annie graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts with an MFA in Filmmaking. She brings a collaborative spirit, devotion to aesthetics, and focus on real-world impact to all her film projects. Annie serves on the Board of the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital’s and has consulted for Ford Foundation, JustFilms and FotoDC. Annie was born in Washington DC and lived in London and Maine before settling in Brooklyn with a lawyer/musician, one small child, and overly exuberant rescue Saint Bernard.