REBECCA MEYERS is Bucknell’s academic film programmer and a film/media studies lecturer. In her own nonnarrative filmmaking, she has captured the often overlooked world of wild birds — a natural subject for this avid birder. To Meyers, this perfect marriage of two passions feels more like making poetry than making movies. In her office, Meyers keeps some bird nests — symbols of a perfect, natural world just outside, and of a yet-to-be made film.
REBECCA MEYERS is Bucknell’s academic film programmer and a film/media studies lecturer. In her own nonnarrative filmmaking, she has captured the often overlooked world of wild birds — a natural subject for this avid birder. To Meyers, this perfect marriage of two passions feels more like making poetry than making movies. In her office, Meyers keeps some bird nests — symbols of a perfect, natural world just outside, and of a yet-to-be made film.
Birding is unusual to a lot of people, so when they find out I do it, it sticks with them. I was considering making a film about bird nests, and people who know I’m into birds gave these to me. It’s amazing these nests have stayed together so long. They fell from trees and were outside until given to me.
Another part of bringing a nest inside is having the magical, mysterious beauty of something made by the natural world. We can’t fully understand it, but we can appreciate it. What I do with the camera is also making visible what is overlooked. By capturing something on film and giving it an audience to see, that thing is given significance — a charge that it wouldn’t otherwise have. My attentiveness is an invitation for the viewer to look closely.
There’s a connection between my filmmaking and bird-watching. In both, you’re looking through a lens. And both are about bringing something close to you via machinery. Both are about looking at beauty and the pleasure of discovery. In a way, they’re both about desire. So in a lot of ways, they’re a natural pair for me.
— As told to Susan Lindt