CURLEW MAN
To save the curlew, one must first become the curlew.
SYNOPSIS
Feature Documentary
DIRECTED BY
Morgan Heim & Matt Maran
PRODUCED BY
Big, Stupid Idea Productions
A joint venture of Neon Raven Story Labs and Matthew Maran Photography
On the windswept moors of Wuthering Heights, Matt Trevelyan — a classically-trained clown, puppetmaker and Buddhist — is on a mission to build a massive following for curlews. Emboldened by his sense of loss, Matt creates Cathy the Curlew. She is not a puppet, she is a persona, a way of being. Together, they turn hope into an act of rebellion unlike anything this stretch of the Dales has ever seen. Whilst the issues facing wildlife can be dire, the efforts to save them can inspire joy.
A CHOIR OF CURLEWS
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Morgan Heim, Director/DP
Founder of Neon Raven Story Labs, Morgan is a National Geographic Explorer with a background in zoology and journalism. Her work features in Audubon, National Geographic and BBC Wildlife. In 2025, her film Reindalen won best conservation short at the Jackson Wild Media Awards.
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Matt Maran, Director/DP
Owner of Matthew Maran Photography, Matt Maran is an acclaimed wildlife filmmaker, book publisher and photographer. He recently served as the cinematographer for the urban fox sequences on BBC’s Wild London.
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Cato Hoeben, Composer
Cato Hoeben is a film, TV and game composer for BBC and ITV, screened in cinema, and distributed on Netflix and Prime. He scored the award-winning BBC nature documentary "Takaya: Lone Wolf," winner of a Canadian Screen Award, and two Wildscreen Festival BBC Newcomer (Panda) Award-winning films.
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David Gray, Original Song-writer
David Gray is one of Britain's most beloved singer-songwriters, whose album White Ladder became a defining record of its era and one of the UK's best-selling albums of the 21st century. A four-time Brit Award nominee, he has reached the US Top 20 with five successive albums.
