Million Dollar Pigeons

Gavin Fitzgerald’s Million Dollar Pigeons takes viewers into the competitive and madcap world of pigeon racing as it follows a selection of racing enthusiasts (or fanciers, to give them the preferred terminology) from around the world hoping to win big and to make a name for themselves at the most well-known events in the racing calendar. However, when scandal and disaster erupt, the whole community is shaken to the point where it might not recover.

This documentary is unlike most sports films in how unusually niche the subject is. It may come as a surprise, then, at how insanely lucrative the sport has become, with birds selling for hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars at a time. The passion of the people involved is as exuberant as the price tag; one can’t help but become caught up in the excitement of watching countless birds take to the skies alongside the euphoria that comes with watching them touch back down again. While the novelty of the premise will undoubtedly draw curious audiences in, it’s Fitzgerald’s success in capturing the joy of his subjects which allows observers to become swept up in the drama.

However, everything doesn’t always run smoothly in life, and when it came to the Million Dollar Pigeon Race in South Africa, nobody could have predicted what could have happened. The catastrophe doesn’t just shock the fanciers but knocks the documentary off track as it now finds itself shifting focus to Thailand for the remainder of its duration. Rather than acting as a pivotal plot point, though, this swift change feels more like the filmmakers have had to roll with the punches and weren’t sure how to incorporate it into a cohesive narrative.

This isn’t the only place where the script is scatterbrained in structure either. Talking points about a decline in the sport due to a lack of new interest in new generations are introduced as if it were a major theme but aren’t touched upon after. Likewise, discussions surrounding classicism and wealth in a sport that’s supposed to be classless make for fascinating observations; but, again, this line of thought eventually runs out of steam.

Despite its shortcomings, though, Million Dollar Pigeon gives viewers a vast insight into the peculiar sport while becoming acquainted with some of those who’ve dedicated their lives to it.

Andrew Murray

Million Dollar Pigeons is released digitally on demand on 26^th November 2022.

Watch the trailer for Million Dollar Pigeons here: