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The Powerful Owl

Filmed over the course of 3 months during the 2021 Covid Lockdown in Sydney Australia, 'The Powerful Owl' is a 1-hour documentary about filmmaker David Luff documenting the lives of a family of Powerful Owls and their two Owlets. As he discovers and films their habits, learned behaviour and accomplishments, parallels are found within his own personal life.

  • David Luff
    Director
  • David Luff
    Writer
  • David Luff
    Producer
  • David Luff
    Key Cast
  • David Luff
    Cinematographer
  • David Luff
    Editor
  • Lauren Clair
    Script Advisor
  • Cody Jarrett
    Script Advisor
  • Skye Salt
    Associate Producer
  • Sam King
    Colourist
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Genres:
    Nature, Wildlife, Natural History
  • Runtime:
    57 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    November 17, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    7,000 AUD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    UHD4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - David Luff

David Luff is a Natural History Cinematographer and filmmaker from Australia currently living in Bristol, UK. His relentless passion for the creative process is second to none and has gained him multiple awards over the years.

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Director Statement

The Powerful Owl is the brainchild of David Luff. For 90% of the project, it was entirely handled by him. Through principle photography, to producing and organising the interview and re-enacted behind the scenes filming, and then into post production and marketing, David work tirelessly and relentlessly to bring this project to life.

Though this was not the only accomplishment that was had. Principle photography occurred during the tightest COVID lockdown that Sydney faced - during late 2021. With this lockdown, David was left without work or study to spend his time on, so he took the initiative to create a piece of work that both obeyed the lockdown laws, and followed a true story local to his area.

The fact that this documentary was created during a tight lockdown, with primarily just David handling every aspect, shows testament to David's multi-skilled talent and what he is able to accomplish with so little.

Regarding the documentary itself, The Powerful Owl takes inspiration from 'My Octopus Teacher'. This sub-genre of Natural History was a huge inspiration for David as he felt that it opened up a new way of storytelling that both filmmaker and general audience can appreciate.