Migratori is the film by Agnese Galiotto produced by GAMeC as part of the project Thinking Like a Mountain, which explores the complex interaction between human beings and animals, starting from the encounter between a group of ornithologists and a number of specimens of various species of migratory birds.

Involving two of the ringing stations to be found along the migratory route that crosses Italy longitudinally, down to North Africa, the artist manages to restore a two-fold dimension: one both scientific and profoundly human.

Through the scientific method of leg ringing, information may be collected on the lifestyle of birds and track of their movements may be kept, thus making it possible to monitor the variations to which migrations are subjected for reasons linked mainly to climate change. Scientists measure the weight of the birds, determine their age and sex, and analyze their general state of health by observing their plumage. The birds are trapped with very fine nets set up in strategic locations to allow biometric measurements and data to be collected before they are released. Although these operations are carried out with extreme delicacy and care, there are always aspects of constraint bound up in necessary physical contact with vulnerable creatures.

The ambivalence that emerges from these practices is sensitively rendered by the artist through different kinds of framing: the details in the thicket of the forest and the close-ups capture the expressions of the faces and the skilled gestures of ornithologists; the intertwining of human hands and bird feet tells of the direct interaction between humans and animals, revealing a moving sense of fragility; the long shots, which embrace the treetops and the silence of nature, capture the harmony of the mountain landscape and the complex coexistence with the infrastructure created by humans. The latter is an aspect that is particularly evident in the transition between the film’s different settings: the industrial context of the Capannelle ringing station, on the Bergamo plain, and that of Passo Brocon, ensconced in the Trentino Alpine environment.

The medium-length film succeeds in breaching the boundary that separates the scientific approach of neutral observation and the subjective sphere of the scholar, one also based on emotionality, wonder, and passion.

For the artist, the birds represent creatures with which one does not usually identify: an aspect that allows her to open up a reflection on a non-romanticized way of approaching the animal world. The camera follows the protagonists discreetly, capturing moments of admiration and genuine enthusiasm, such as the flight re-embarked upon with each release, testifying to the subtle balance between knowledge of and respect for the natural world.