About the Film

National Bird follows the dramatic journey of three whistleblowers who are determined to break the silence around one of the most controversial current affairs issues of our time: the secret U.S. drone war. At the center of the film are three U.S. military veterans. Plagued by guilt over participating in the killing of faceless people in foreign countries, they decide to speak out publicly, despite the possible consequences.

Their stories take dramatic turns, leading one of the protagonists to Afghanistan where she learns about a horrendous incident. But her journey also gives hope for peace and redemption. National Bird gives rare insight into the U.S. drone program through the eyes of veterans and survivors, connecting their stories as never seen before in a documentary. Its images haunt the audience and bring a faraway issue close to home.

Production Team

Full Team Bios

Sonia Kennebeck
Director & Producer

Ines Hofmann Kanna
Producer

Torsten Lapp
Director of Photography

Maxine Goedicke
Editor

Insa Rudolph
Composer

Wim Wenders
Executive Producer

Errol Morris
Executive Producer

See the Film

You can now stream the film on Netflix.

NATIONAL BIRD is also available on iTunes and VUDU.

To order a DVD or BluRay, please visit Amazon.

Upcoming Screenings
Saturday, December 9, 2017, 9:30am: Global Health Film Festival, Barbican Centre London, UK, including Q&A with director.

Past Festival Screenings
2017 Stockholm Feminist Film Festival, Sweden
2016 IDFA Amsterdam
2016 Marda Loop Justice Film Festival
2016 Brattleboro Film Festival
2016 Kasseler Dokfest, Germany
2016 Olympia Film Festival
2016 Right Now Film Festival, UK
2016 360° Science and Technology Film Festival, Moscow
2016 Zürich International Film Festival
2016 Filmfest Hamburg
2016 Milwaukee International Film Festival
2016 Camden International Film Festival
2016 Melbourne Film Festival
2016 East End Film Festival London
2016 Sydney Film Festival
2016 Sheffield Doc|Fest
2016 San Francisco International Film Festival
2016 Tribeca Film Festival
2016 Berlin Film Festival

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Production Company
Ten Forward Films
contact@tenforwardfilms.com

Publicity
Ellis Watamanuk at FilmRise
ellis@filmrise.com

Educational Sales
ro*co educational
kristin@rocofilms.com

International Sales
ro*co films international
cristine@rocofilms.com

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Press

More Press Coverage

“Chilling exposé… haunting, rather beautiful sequences…”
“Less concerned with stats or figures than with revealing the faces behind the action, Kennebeck follows three people who took part in the USAF’s unmanned aerial vehicle program…”

“Chilling testimony… should cast an impressive shadow…”
An “alarm-sounding topic doc” that asks, “If the U.S. can justify the use of drones in Afghanistan, the film implies, on what authority can we forbid other countries from doing the same to us?”

“Uncovers some disturbing truths about modern American warfare…”
“National Bird demonstrates that the nature of drone warfare makes some drone operatives trigger-happy, while others… end up dehumanised and suffering from PTSD.”