Judy Irving

Judy Irving is an American filmmaker. She directed the documentary "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill", about writer Mark Bittner's relationship with a flock of wild parrots. The film won the Genesis Award for "Outstanding Documentary Film" in 2005 [http://www.hsus.org/about_us/offices_and_affiliates/hsus_hollywood_office/the_genesis_awards/20th_anniversary_genesis_awards/Animals-Come-Into-Focus-The-20th-Anniversary-Genesis-Awards-Honors-the-Media-that-Spotlighted-Animals-in-2005.html] , and is one of the 25 top-grossing theatrical documentaries of all time [http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/wildparrots/bios.html] with over $3 million in box-office receipts [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424565/business] . On May 29, 2007, "Parrots" was featured on PBS' Independent Lens. [http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/guide.html]

A previous feature-length film, "Dark Circle," won the Grand Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 1983 as well as a National Emmy Award for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in News and Documentary" in 1990.

Irving has a masters degree in Film & Broadcasting from Stanford University, a BA from Connecticut College and received a Guggenheim Fellowship in Film in 1983. In 2006, she married Mark Bittner after the two fell in love during the filming of "Parrots".

She is the executive director of Pelican Media [http://www.pelicanmedia.org/] , a San Francisco non-profit which produces environmentally-themed films.

External links

* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23705-2005Mar10.html Profile of Judy Irving] in the "Washington Post" (March 11, 2005)
* [http://austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A289005 Interview with Judy Irving] in the "Austin Chronicle" about "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" (September 9, 2005)
* [http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/wildparrots/qa.html Filmmaker Q&A] with PBS's "Independent Lens"
* [http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/wildparrots/bios.html Filmmaker bio] on PBS's "Independent Lens"