H Is for Hawk
Short description
Following the sudden death of her father, Helen withdraws from her academic life in Cambridge to cope with her grief. She becomes preoccupied with the challenge of training a wild goshawk named Mabel, a pursuit rooted in memories of nature excursions she shared with her father. As Helen focuses on the demanding process of teaching the bird to hunt and fly independently, the relationship helps her confront her suppressed emotions and rediscover how to move forward with her life.
This drama was directed by Philippa Lowthorpe, following her work on Sex, the City and Me, Swallows and Amazons, and Misbehaviour. The film features a cast led by Claire Foy, with Brendan Gleeson, Lindsay Duncan, Denise Gough, Sam Spruell, and Emma Cunniffe in supporting roles. The production involved a total of 28 credited actors and 54 crew members, with a screenplay written by Emma Donoghue and production handled by companies including Film4 Productions and Plan B Entertainment.
The movie is a joint production between the United Kingdom, the United States, and Singapore. Since its release, it has received a rating of 7.1/10 on TMDB based on 34 votes.
What's left behind the scenes
- According to director Philippa Lowthorpe, all scenes with hawks were filmed without the use of CGI. In only one of the hunting scenes was a pheasant, intended to be the hawk's prey, created using graphics.
- To ensure the scenes with the hawk looked natural, actress Claire Foy underwent an intensive two-week training course with five birds of prey. According to her trainer, if the birds hadn't accepted Claire, the film could not have been made.
- The role of Mabel was played by five birds—four female northern goshawks and one male peregrine falcon. Each bird has its own personality, so they only participated in the scenes that suited them.
- Alisdair MacDonald was a British photojournalist who worked for The Daily Mirror for 26 years. Alisdair's photographs and cameras were used during the filming of the movie.
- Brendan Gleeson intentionally chose a Scottish accent rather than the London accent used by the real Alisdair MacDonald. According to the actor, since he does not resemble him physically, he took this artistic liberty to create a similar persona. Brendan also noted that Helen Macdonald, Alisdair's daughter and author of the original book, approved of this move and said her father would have certainly liked the decision.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
