A ray of hope in an oily mess

Lori and I braced ourselves for what we feared might be yet another downer -- a film about man's efforts to cpature and rehabilitate oil-slicked birds in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill.

But to our surprise, virtually everything about last night's screening of the documentary "Saving Pelican 895" gave us a reason to feel good.

-- The film itself: Portland filmmaker Irene Taylor Brodsky and her local crew from Vermilion Pictures went down to the Gulf of Mexico a couple months after the oil spill and talked their way into telling the story of a single bird, a young brown pelican, that was dubbed No. 895. Why? Because 894 birds before it had been tagged by wildlife rescue personnel on the scene in Louisiana. Several hundred more would be similarly identified.

The resulting 40-minute documentary, to be shown April 20 on HBO, is a tale of unsung heroes --   wildlife rebab veterans and Louisiana State University veterinary students -- who nurse their feathered patients with TLC and an appropriate measure of distance, to avoid becoming emotionally attached to the stressed-out birds. Combining beautiful cinematography with a simple narrative focused on No. 895, the film culminates in the release of the young bird to a fate unknown to his caregivers.

Sophie Harris, Mason Bondi

-- The reception. After the screening and a Q&A with the crew and two wildlife rehab experts who appeared in the film, the 600 or so folks who turned out for the event at the Portland Art Museum made their way down to a swanky ballroom that featured finger foods, wine and beer, and ample opportunity for conversation.

-- Friends, old and new. We chatted up the associate producer, Sophie Harris, and several others we've come to know through our two eldest children. Sophie has worked with Irene on several productions and has become quite adept at being a "fixer" -- i.e., someone who calls on her resourcefulness, adaptability, multitasking and decision-making skills under pressure to ensure that all the logistics of a shoot get worked out. And she helps out on the technical end, too, in the shooting and editing of the film.

We also talked with Amie Peterson, a familiar face from my Tuesday night bowling league. Turns out she's a colleague of Irene's husband, Matt Brodsky; both are neurologists at Oregon Health & Science University.

Lori & Grace Bowman

The combination of a stirring, uplifting film with tasty snacks and a chance to converse with interesting people made for a nice middle-of-the-week outing. Throw in the fact that Lori and I were able to meet beforehand for happy hour at a Portland restaurant and you can see why it was so enjoyable from start to finish.

For the record, here's the writeup I did for OregonLive.com.