Filmmaker Statement

I was inspired to write this story by watching the life of birds, especially seagulls, on a neighboring rooftop across our courtyard. Living on the top floor, we have a good view on the sprawling lower rooftops around from my office and kitchen windows. Hence we - and especially our two cats - partake in their annual arrivals in spring, nesting season and parting in late summer. I got especially involved emotionally some years ago, when we found a young seagull, which fell from the roof for the first time, and we learned a lot. It took them a weekend to find out how to fly. For most people, seagulls are a harbinger of the seaside at best, loud and thieving pests at worst, and most are just indifferent towards them. But gulls are most remarkable birds with a life expectancy of more than twenty years. The next year, we already knew what to expect, so when the next Flausen landed in our courtyard, I was way less worried about the outcome. I wonder, if it is the same family returning.