ORNITHOLOGY is a documentary that explores the mystery of birdsong in New York City via its 350 species of birds and its musical and lyrical connection with jazz music and performance, rooted within the city’s legendary venues and jazz history.
ORNITHOLOGY - This documentary will tell the story of New York City soundscapes through the approach of ornithology, the study of birds and birdsong, as they relate to jazz music, performance, and jazz history of the city. The film explores, side by side, two distinct yet lyrically mysterious and prolific types of music-making characters, birds and jazz musicians. The documentary will weave together 4 narrative trajectories that will intersect together throughout the film: 1) the introduction and exploration of birdsong and jazz music, 2) the examination of bird species and musicians on an singular, musical level; 3) birds and musicians as collective, social groups creating larger musical communities, and 4) the urban and environmental locations in which they are rooted within the city, which New York residents visit in order to listen to and preserve these two music-making collectives.
Marina Grozdanova is a filmmaker based in New York. In 2012, she co-founded with her sister the independent production company El Jinete Films. She is the co-director and co-producer of Eastern Western (2025), her first narrative feature, which had a limited theatrical release across AMC theatres and is available digitally on Amazon and Apple TV. Her previous work includes the documentary The Last Kamikazis of Heavy Metal (2014) as well as short documentaries Ortigueira: Ecos de Finis Terrae (2013) and Bajo Tierra (2016). She has worked on nonfiction programming for National Geographic (Disney+/Hulu), Left/Right TV (Hulu), Kartemquin Films (Al Jazeera) and more. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago and the Université de Montréal from which she holds a master in cinema. She is currently in the development stages of her second feature film.
