Nonsuch
Megan Wennberg, Tiny Kittens Inc.
Language: English
Based On: n/a
Project Type: Feature Film (Doc)
Genre: Documentary
Stage of Development: Early
Estimated Length (minutes): 80
Director: Megan Wennberg
Director Bio:
Megan is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose previous films have screened at top festivals around the world like Annecy, DOC NYC, Hot Docs, BFI Flair and Rotterdam, and streamed across Europe and North America on Apple TV, Prime, Mubi, Hulu and others. Megan is drawn to people more than subjects, and she is driven to uplift the stories of people who are authentically pursuing their passions as a way to connect with themselves and the world. Her favourite part of filmmaking is when art and life come together and she and her team create something that allows audiences to connect deeply.
Proposed or Confirmed Talent:
Jeremy Madeiros, lead participant
Total Budget: 488,000
Percent Confirmed: 10%
Currency: $ USD
List names of confirmed partners:
Financing, Distribution, Broadcaster, Co-production Partner
What is this project seeking?
Logline:
In his last year on the job, a dedicated conservation officer will do whatever it takes to ensure a unique island ecosystem and the critically endangered species who live there will survive after he is gone. NONSUCH is an immersive, character-driven film that reckons with questions of legacy, our responsibility to the natural world, and what it means to love something that you have to let go.
Synopsis:
Jeremy Madeiros is Bermuda’s senior terrestrial conservation officer and the warden of Nonsuch Island. Jeremy has dedicated decades of his life to preserving Nonsuch’s unique ecosystem, and the critically endangered species who live there.
Stepping onto Nonsuch Island is like stepping back in time. It is one of the first successful examples of ‘re-wilding’ anywhere in the world, and the island is alive with interconnected life.
One of the most amazing creatures to call Nonsuch home is the Cahow, a beautiful seabird that spends most of its life at sea, only coming to land to nest and raise its young. Tens of thousands of Cahows used to nest all over Bermuda, but when the British colonized the islands in the early 1600s, they quickly drove the gentle birds extinct. Or so everyone thought, until 1951 when 17 surviving pairs were found clinging to existence on tiny rocky islets off the coast - making Cahows one of the world’s rare ‘Lazarus Species.’
Jeremy has been caring for the Cahows for decades, diligently recording population data in his tiny pocket notebooks, weighing and measuring them in weathered cotton bags. Like a surrogate father, he knows every Cahow and its offspring personally - who make the best parents, who build the best (and worst) nests, who is cheating on who, and which brother and sister shacked up as a pair. And he loves them all.
Jeremy often says he feels like the luckiest guy on Earth and that he would do this work for free. But as a government employee, he will be required to retire next year, when he turns 68. NONSUCH will follow Jeremy in his last year on the job, as he overcomes internal and external challenges - from hurricanes threatening to drown nesting Cahows, to injuries making it painful to do the physically demanding work he loves.
NONSUCH is a love story of man against time. As Jeremy’s days on Nonsuch Island come to an end, he will be faced with all the good he has done, what mistakes were made, and all that he wishes he could still do.
Contact Information: meganwennberg@yahoo.ca
