David is a 15-year-old birding enthusiast, which doesn’t exactly make him the most popular kid in school. His passion comes from his mom, a fervid birder who died eighteen months ago. One day, he spots an extinct duck and manages to snap a blurry photograph of it. His sighting represents an incredible discovery in the birder world, yet an unclear picture doesn’t prove anything. Determined to find the duck, he sets off with his friends from the Young Birder’s Society, only days before his dad’s wedding with his late wife’s nurse. Their journey is as much about birding as it is about friendship, self-discovery and rising up to life’s challenges. This thoughtful coming-of-age tale reminds us how, with the years, we lose that intense way of living.
 
In the leading role is Kodi Smit-McPhee, who starred in The Road, alongside Viggo Mortensen, and in Let Me In, where he played the fragile young protagonist. Smit-McPhee is surrounded by a group of promising young actors. It also stars Ben Kingsley, in a secondary, yet very memorable, role as a famous birder. Premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival (where it won the second place for the Audience Award), A Birder’s Guide to Everything was also screened at well-known festivals such as Austin, and it had its Spanish premiere at Gijón International Film Festival.