Gypætus helveticus
Swiss volture
Svizzera / 2011 / 7 min / Colour
Italian premiere
The bearded vulture is a predator of imposing size and an undeservedly bad reputation. Widespread throughout the Alps, in particular in Switzerland, it risked extinction due to the prejudices that persecute it. The rumours and false allegations of its danger to animals and men have unleashed hordes of wild hunters against this poor, innocuous creature. Over several decades or more or less authorized hunting, they have destroyed nearly all of the exemplars. This animated documentary addresses the question with the magnifying glass of irony. With amusing drawings, we are invited to reflect on how incorrect information and prejudice can cause grave damage to nature. The poor vulture is juxtaposed with the stupid man, with his rifles and muskets and the arrogance to feel he is the master of the mountains and of its animals, and with the ignorance of which even mountain dwellers are guilty with regard to the environment in which they live.
Credits
Language Italian Subject Marcel BarelliScreenplay Marcel BarelliSound Laurent JespersenEditing Marcel Barelli, Zoltan HorvathMusic Louis Crelier