Dialogue with director Sally Aitken
Inspired by Terry Masear's book, Fastest Things on Wings: Rescuing Hummingbirds in Hollywood, this joyous documentary offers profound truths and moments of wonder in a deceptively simple story. What does it mean to care for another, and what impact does this act have on us? In tending to these fragile yet resilient hummingbirds, Masear finds a sense of healing from her own past. Her diminutive patients — brought into sharp focus through breathtaking, beautifully detailed photography — become memorable protagonists. The viewer becomes emotionally invested in Cactus, Jimmy, Wasabi, Alexa, and Mikhail, celebrating their small victories and lamenting their tiny tragedies. The compassion and empathy that Masear shows her Lilliputian charges serves as a lesson to us all — a reminder that in the smallest of acts, and in the tiniest of creatures, we might find grace.