With a special live appearance by Bernie and Katherine Krause to introduce the film.

Bernie Krause, the legendary pioneer of Acoustic Ecology began his journey in the 1960s as a prolific composer at the forefront of the synthesizer revolution helping transform the cinema and the music industries, but a single chance encounter with the sounds of the wilderness set him on a completely new trajectory gathering wilderness recordings across the globe. Over half a century later, his vast archive of captured soundscapes reflects dire habitat devastation in virtually all ecosystems on Earth, yet also yields urgent stories about the need for immediate change. Bernie and his wife Kat tragically faced the immediacy of climate change when their home and recording studio was completely destroyed by the Sonoma wildfires of 2017. Their message to us is ever more urgent. 

“The Last of the Nightingales” invites us to experience the rich acoustic beauty of the living world through Bernie’s ears and to reconnect with it. As more and more soundscapes fall silent, Bernie reminds us that it is not too late to begin listening. 

Directed and edited by Masha Karpoukhina; cinematography by Justin LaFleur; produced by Hassan Said and Rose Wyatt.