The desire to prove or debunk myths may be as much a part of the human persona as the need to create them. That is the conflict acclaimed documentarian George Butler (Pumping Iron) addresses in this film by telling the story of the great ivory-billed woodpecker. In April 2005, the announcement that this supposedly extinct bird had been rediscovered in Arkansas was big news. As quickly as the sighting was made, skeptics began to demand hard evidence. And so the story unfolds, setting scientists, environmentalists and outdoorsmen off in a wild search to capture a clear photo of the ivory-bill. Butler has chronicled their stories and captured something much more ephemeral. As one researcher said, “If there is a straw of hope, how can we not look for it?”
—Mary Duffy