Behind the Scenes of “Flying High”: A Conversation with Producer Stephen Ives

A conversation with producer Stephen Ives on the documentary Flying High, produced by Insignia Films and Artists Equity.

In a captivating conversation with producer Stephen Ives, we get a behind-the-scenes look at the documentary Flying High. The film tells the story of Dr. Johannes Fritz, a scientist devoted to the Northern Bald Ibis, a rare bird whose traditional migration route over the Alps has been disrupted by climate change. Refusing to stand by and watch them disappear, Fritz hatches a bold plan: he enlists human foster mothers to raise the birds just after they hatch, getting them to bond so strongly that they will follow them anywhere. With a homemade microlight aircraft rigged to a kiteboarder's parasail, Johannes and the foster mothers lead the birds on a 1,740-mile journey from Germany to a new sanctuary in southern Spain.

Directed by Tyler Schiffman and produced by Stephen Ives and Amanda Pollak, with executive producers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, the film is both a thrilling adventure and a stirring tribute to human ingenuity, compassion, and perseverance. This talk was co-hosted with Perry Lawson Fine Art.