2024
Every Little Thing
Every Little Thing follows retired writer and teacher Terry Masear over a summer as she takes in and rehabilitates injured hummingbirds. Shot with stunning close-ups of the birds against the backdrop of Masear’s storied life, this film is a mediation on human-animal relationships and our capacity for care.
Director
Sally Aitken
Runtime
93 Minutes
Country
Australia
Classification
Unclassified 15+
On the outskirts of Los Angeles, a retired teacher finds solace and wonder in rehabilitating injured hummingbirds.
For almost twenty years, retired writer and teacher Terry Masear has been running Los Angeles Hummingbird Rescue. From her home in West Hollywood, Terry answers hundreds of calls from concerned LA residents requesting her help with motherless birds, broken wings and malnourishment; traumas that find resonance with Terry’s own life.
In Every Little Thing, Sally Aitken, director of Playing with Sharks: The Valerie Taylor Story and David Stratton: A Cinematic Life, takes us deep into another side of LA. Inspired by Terry’s book Fastest Things on Wings, this film follows Terry over a season as she rehabilitates these small but feisty beings with names such as Cactus, Jimmy, Alexa and Larry Bird in the hope that they might just make it back into the wild.
This visually stunning film shows how rich a life can be when guided by compassion and care.
For almost twenty years, retired writer and teacher Terry Masear has been running Los Angeles Hummingbird Rescue. From her home in West Hollywood, Terry answers hundreds of calls from concerned LA residents requesting her help with motherless birds, broken wings and malnourishment; traumas that find resonance with Terry’s own life.
In Every Little Thing, Sally Aitken, director of Playing with Sharks: The Valerie Taylor Story and David Stratton: A Cinematic Life, takes us deep into another side of LA. Inspired by Terry’s book Fastest Things on Wings, this film follows Terry over a season as she rehabilitates these small but feisty beings with names such as Cactus, Jimmy, Alexa and Larry Bird in the hope that they might just make it back into the wild.
This visually stunning film shows how rich a life can be when guided by compassion and care.
“This film about an avian rescuer is a densely layered meditation on love, resilience and letting go.”
The Guardian
“Every Little Thing is not just a deeply affecting portrait — it offers a vision of compassion as a way of life.”
The Hollywood Reporter
Sundance, Hot Docs, Sydney
Film Credits
Director
Sally Aitken
Year
2024
Country
Australia
Language
English
Type
Documentary & Feature
Program Strand
Change Award, Guest in attendance, Q&A & World Documentary
Producer
Bettina Dalton p.g.a., Oli Harbottle & Anna Godas
Writer
Sally Aitken
Cinematographer
Nathan Barlow, Dan Freene & Ann Johnson Prum
Editor
Tania Michel Nehme
Music
Caitlin Yeo
Film Source
Umbrella Entertainment
Genre
Documentary, Feel-Good & Nature
Purchase Tickets
More to see...
Plastic People: The Hidden Crisis of Microplastics
All plastic breaks down to become microplastics then drifts in the air, floats in bodies of water and mixes with the earth. Acclaimed science journalist Ziya Tong interviews global scientists, confirming we are all becoming plastic!
I Am the River, the River Is Me
I Am the River, the River Is Me follows a five-day canoe journey along Aotearoa/New Zealand's Whanganui River, the first river in the world to gain legal personhood. Guided by a Māori guardian, this visually stunning documentary explores the river’s profound impact on Indigenous rights and environmental stewardship.
A New Kind of Wilderness
Winner of the 2024 Sundance Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema – Documentary, A New Kind of Wilderness follows a family that leaves city life to live off the land in rural Norway. As they embrace a simpler existence, an unexpected event challenges their dream, raising profound questions about modern living.
The Wolves Always Come at Night
In this intimate hybrid film, a young nomadic couple in Mongolia are in the midst of their animals’ birthing season when a devastating storm strikes. Forced to leave their home they must adapt to their new life in the city without their animals.