Embedded Files
"Meadows Film"
In Production - A Compelling and Surprising Short
"Meadows Film"
In Production - A Compelling and Surprising Short
"Why do we spend billions watering dead space? This short documentary dismantles the myth of the perfect lawn to reveal a simpler, cheaper, and wilder alternative."
Synopsis
Synopsis
A lawn's plainest harm is the water it does not need. AI is the water user the whole country is arguing about now, but American lawns use approximately 75 times more than all of it.
Over 40 million acres of American lawn – roughly twice as much as every cotton field, rice paddy, potato crop, and fruit, nut, and berry orchard in the country combined. This is the story of the Americans who turned it back into something alive.
A documentary short about Americans from many walks of life – the weekend gardener, the lifelong naturalist, the family on the grand estate – who turned the unused parts of their yards into native meadows, and got the fireflies, the butteries, and the community back.
CREATED BY - William Sweet
DIRECTOR - Wylie Overstreet
FOR PAINTED WOLF PICTURES: EXEC PRODUCER - Nick Lyon
"The Listener - A Life in Sound"
In Production - A Cinematic Feature Documentary
"The Listener - A Life in Sound"
In Production - A Cinematic Feature Documentary
"A man who has spent his life listening to the wild now has something to say - and it will change the way we experience our world."
Synopsis
Synopsis
For the last 60 years natural history sound recordist Martyn Stewart has recorded the planet’s beating heart - its wildlife. Known in the industry as the ‘David Attenborough of sound’ his recordings have been used in landmark natural history series and Hollywood movies there's a good chance you have seen, in natural history - Blue Planet, Life of Birds, Green Planet, and in the movies - Cold Mountain, Frozen and Ice Age to name just a few.
The shocking truth is that in these last 60 years, within Martyn’s career, more than 75% of the planet's species, and with it their sonic chorus, have disappeared. If this was an orchestra, 3 out of every 4 musicians have simply stopped playing. The audio landscapes we hear in Martyn’s recordings no longer exist - an uncomfortable truth that today, Martyn and the team behind some of the biggest natural history shows ever made, want us all to listen to.
We travel with Martyn from the swamps of his home town Florida to the forests of Borneo, immersing ourselves in soundscapes he has recorded over the past six decades, demonstrating the transformative power of stopping and listening.
The Listener is more than one man’s story of recording nature – it’s a timely cinematic journey into our collective need for reconnection.
Backed by cutting-edge natural history and imbued with soul, Martyn’s life work shows that listening to nature is a healing act, an antidote to modern despair, and a path to empathy and purpose.
ISLE OF SKYE
MARTYN & ONR
ATCHAFALAYA SWAMP
KISSIMMEE
A Word from Matt Aeberhard:
THE LISTENER'S DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
A Word from Matt Aeberhard:
THE LISTENER'S DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
"Shooting for sound” is filming with a different set of initiating principles.
It will allow us to present something truly new.
Wildlife films typically show a wide image with an animal in frame, followed by a tight shot of the animal to show an element of its behaviour.
Our approach will reflect what it feels like to be in an environment. Where sound precedes what might only be a fleeting glimpse of its originator.
In a forest for example, nothing comes easy, we have to search for the source of a sound, search for images that lead us to reveal each source.
Abstract shots, partial glimpses, fleeting moments. Our approach envisages what might in some ways be considered the opposite of traditional natural history. It’s an experiential approach that focuses very deeply on the animals in their habitat matrix, concentrating our attention on mood, a sense of place, and ultimately the soundscape available to a listener in any particular habitat."
The Listener is an immersive tribute to six decades of dedication - one man’s extraordinary journey to preserve the soul of the natural world through its vanishing soundscapes. Martyn Stewart's archive is more than a collection; it’s a living testament to what once thrived - and what we’ve lost.
FOR PAINTED WOLF PICTURES:
DIRECTOR · WRITER - Nick Lyon
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY - Matt Aeberhard
HEAD OF PRODUCTION - Kirstie Phillips
IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE LISTENING PLANET
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