Directed by Sundance and Emmy award-winning director Judy Irving, Pelican Dreams tracks a willful California brown pelican.

The story begins when she is arrested on the Golden Gate Bridge. And, the story continues with her care at a wildlife rehabilitation facility, and after the movie explores the pelicans’ nesting grounds. The documentary shows a rich Pacific coast migration with unbelievable survival challenges. The movie is a visual story about wilderness and how we are encroaching on the wild.  Perhaps we should be concerned about how we are caring for the wild too much. We should just let wilderness take its course, whether tragic or not.

The poignant movie stars Gigi, the pelican named after the Golden Gate Bridge, and Morro, an urbanized pelican with an injured wing, and the wildlife professionals who care for these birds.

The movie is for those who love pelicans and birds alike.  For those who live near the coast and see the birds almost every day, consider it a wonderful introduction and education of the wildlife around you.

Pelican Dreams is not a typical big-budget documentary, but the story still shines through, with Irving also serving as cinematographer and capturing some amazing footage of pelicans in their breeding areas. The majority of the movie covers rescue and release facilities that rehabilitate sick and injured birds. The documentary shows the dedication these people have to save the pelicans.

Edited also by Irving, the movie may seem a bit slow if you are not interested in pelicans. They are such wondrous creatures that the movie is worth watching. I highly recommend the movie for anyone who loves these amazing animals, and my hat goes off to Irving for all her hard work on this brilliant story of the wilderness.