Fragment 21: The Birds and The Beasts (2026)

Synopsis

Another installment of Toney Merritt’s Fragment series, The Birds and The Beasts is a hypnotizing meditation on nature and sounds that combines timelapse footage of a bird feeder with the trail camera footage of a mountain lion shot in real time. Set to a self-composed piece drawn from Merritt’s sound library, The Birds and The Beasts’ unique rhythm and two-part structure captures what it means to live in the wilderness through juxtaposing the power and majesty of the cougar with the spirit and freedom of the birds. A fragment of the seemingly mundane reality, the birds and the mountain lion turn into something far more meaningful: a reflection on multispecies relations and our peaceful co-existence with animals.

Release Date: 2026-04-18

Runtime: 4 minutes

Director: Toney W. Merritt