aemi online | Bryony Dunne, 'Killing the Messengers' (2020), with introductory text by Suzanne Walsh

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Killing the Messengers by Irish filmmaker Bryony Dunne combines ancient mythology and modern ornithology to focus on birds as omens, as trackers of climate degradation, pollution and habitat loss. Set on the Greek island of Antikythera where thousands of migratory birds rest and refuel before continuing their journeys across the Mediterranean Sea, Killing the Messengers focuses on a team of scientists interested in using birds as ‘exceptional indexes for tracking environmental risk factors’. Accompanied by a commissioned text by Suzanne Walsh, exploring folkloric and contemporary understandings of birds as “living data”.