THE FALCONER / U.S.A. / LOUISIANA PREMIERE

This intimate portrait film follows master falconer Rodney Stotts on his mission to build a bird sanctuary and provide access to nature for his stressed community. The Falconer weaves Rodney's present-day mission with the story of his past, both of which are deeply rooted in issues of social and environmental injustice, and consistently orient the viewer to his worldview: nature heals. The Falconer captures beauty and hope in a forgotten corner of our nation's capital, as Rodney takes the time to break through to those too often dismissed as "hard to reach". This 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.

Director Biography

Annie began her film career in her hometown, Washington DC, at The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital, where she now serves on the Board of Directors. She consulted for Ford Foundation’s JustFilms team 2015 - 2016, and directs, produces, and ADs narrative and documentary films.

Annie received an MFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2016, where she was awarded an Alan Landsburg Documentary Award and Spike Lee Fellowship. Annie lives in Brooklyn with a lawyer/musician and a slightly unruly rescue Saint Bernard.