"Theatre of the absurd." - filmmaker Albert Serra

With his debut feature Honor de Cavalleria (MIFF 07) - an experimental reworking of the Don Quixote story - Albert Serra proved himself a filmmaker treading an unconventional path. With Birdsong, shot in otherworldly black & white, he again shows his penchant for minimalism, this time focusing on the Biblical journey of the Magi to the site of Christ's birth.

These Wise Men aren't quite the austere characters suggested by the Bible; lost and frustrated in their search for the Christ Child, as their guiding star takes its time appearing, they bicker constantly about how to proceed, provoking some dryly hilarious moments.

A kind of experimental, Ancient-world road movie, Birdsong was shot using only natural light, in the remarkable landscapes of Iceland and the Canary Islands.