Torridon Community Cinema

Synopsis

We drove it to extinction. We brought it back. Can we learn to look it in the eye?

Directed by Ted Simpson, produced by Finbar O'Sullivan, Scout Studio's latest feature documentary explores the latest chapter in the epic story of our relationship with the White Tailed Eagle, the only apex predator ever reintroduced to Britain.


The White Tailed Eagle is one of the largest birds of prey on the planet. For generations, humans have struck an uneasy relationship with this apex predator. We persecuted it to extinction in Britain a century ago - and then the 1970s saw this greatest of eagles brought back to our wild edges.

The return of this apex predator sparked controversy, as accusations of livestock killings quickly surfaced from Scotland’s rural community. Despite no record of predation in Norway, and with an Irish reintroduction scheme ongoing, in Scotland a war of words rages on over the future of this raptor.

This film dives unflinchingly into the conflict, just as the fire burns white hot. Pulling back the curtain on the reintroduction process, combining breathtaking visuals with heart stopping action, and even turning the cameras onto the filmmakers themselves, this epic documentary ultimately asks us - will we ever learn to live alongside the eagle with the sunlit eye? And what will we lose if we can’t?

Additional Info

Location

The Eagle with the Sunlit Eye, Loch Torridon Community Centre, Torridon, IV22 2EZ