On the next Sounds of Film, we remember Mark Bittner by revisiting a past interview about his remarkable life and the beloved documentary The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill.
Mark Bittner, the homeless San Francisco musician whose remarkable bond with a flock of wild parrots was captured in the acclaimed documentary The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, has passed away—21 years after the film first helped put the city’s wild parrots on the map.
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill tells the story of Bittner, a homeless street musician living in San Francisco who forms a deep connection with a flock of wild parrots living on Telegraph Hill. The documentary explores his relationship with the birds, their unique behaviors, and his personal journey of resilience, self-discovery, and connection to nature.
The film first screened in 16mm at festivals in 2003. Mark Bittner’s memoir, The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, was published by Random House in 2004. Distributor Ken Eisen of Shadow Distribution later blew the film up to 35mm and booked it in more than 500 theaters in 2005, where it grossed over $3 million. Broadcast on the national PBS series Independent Lens in 2007, the documentary reached 1.5 million viewers, becoming the most popular program in the series at the time.
Twenty years after the film’s original release, the legacy of the parrots—and Bittner’s story—continued to resonate. In the spring of 2023, the San Francisco Chronicle hosted a contest to choose the city’s “Official Animal.” After four rounds of voting, the maverick wild parrots defeated the well-known sea lions of Pier 39 and 15 other species. The official city ordinance took effect in August, the same month the Avalon Theatre in Washington, D.C. hosted the premiere of the film’s newly restored 4K version.
The restoration was a 5.5-year labor of love. Because the original film existed only in standard definition, it had disappeared from streaming platforms that now require HD masters. Producer and director Judy Irving, with support from the Academy Film Archive, had the original 16mm negative scanned in 4K and began the painstaking process of cleaning up the film’s 120,000 digital frames. She was joined by Sarah Lemarie, CEO of Mickaboo Bird Rescue, whose volunteer efforts helped make the restoration possible. The result allows a whole new generation to experience The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill on the big screen.
Filmmaker Judy Irving is a Sundance and Emmy Award-winning director whose theatrical documentaries include The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, Pelican Dreams, Dark Circle, and Cold Refuge. In 2015 she was elected to the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
Author and film subject Mark Bittner was born and raised in southwestern Washington State. As a teenager he dreamed of becoming a novelist, but eventually pursued music instead. After hitchhiking through Europe, he arrived in San Francisco determined to make a living as a poet and singer-songwriter. When that path faltered, he spent 14 years living on the streets. His unexpected friendship with a flock of wild parrots ultimately inspired him to write his first book, The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. He later completed recordings titled Street Songs as a companion to a second memoir about his life on the street.
Sounds of Film is the nation’s longest-running film and music-themed show. For more than 35 years the program has delivered interviews and music to listeners across Long Island, parts of Connecticut, and to audiences worldwide through online streaming. Guests have included Carter Burwell, Don McLean, Jordan Peterson, Hal Hartley, D. A. Pennebaker, Wendy & Lisa, Alexander Payne, Ernest Dickerson, and Dionne Warwick.
For more information, visit soundsoffilm.com.
Comments are closed.