Bird Dog

Growing up in Wyoming, ten-year-old Rose eagerly joins in her family’s bird-hunting excursions. However, when she accepts her older brother’s dare and swallows the heart of a mourning dove while cleaning the day’s take, she begins to worry that the heart in her belly will sprout into a fully-formed dove. The burgeoning conviction that she is carrying a bird around in her stomach alters her views of hunting and drives her to confront her fears about growing up.

This film lovingly depicts a contemporary rural lifestyle not often seen in films submitted to PCFF. A family that hunts together, builds forts in the woods near tire swings and plays after-dinner games by the fire. Not a cell phone or TV screen in sight. The story was inspired by the filmmaker’s own experiences of growing up in Wyoming.