The famous British photojournalist Alisdair Macdonald was many things: A long-time employee of the Daily Mirror, a well-known documentarian of The Beatles and a celebrated falconer. He was also a beloved father, and when he passed away suddenly in 2007, his child, author Helen Macdonald (who identifies as non-binary), took the shock particularly hard.
In 2014, Macdonald published “H is for Hawk,” a deeply felt memoir about their grief, and how they tried to heal it by adopting and training a young Eurasian hawk, in the spirit of their falconer father. The book was a smash, a bestseller that won the Samuel Johnson Award and the Costa Book of the Year Award.
Now, almost 20 years after the loss of the man who inspired it, the story of Alisdair, Helen and Mabel the goshawk has been given the big screen treatment. Directed by Philippa Lowthorpe with screenplay by Lowthorpe and “Room” author Emma Donoghue, the film stars Claire Foy as Helen (and a clearly very talented raptor like Mabel). The film Also starring Denise Gough, Sam Spruell and Lindsay Duncan.
According to the film’s official synopsis, “H Is for Hawk” follows Helen (Foy), who after the sudden death of her father (Brendan Gleeson) loses herself in the memories of their time as birders and exploring nature together, and turns the ancient art of falconry – rooted in European tradition – to train a wild hawk named Mabel to learn to fly, but she learns to fly and loses Mabel. Helen discovers how deeply she has neglected her own feelings and life. What begins as an act of endurance turns into an intimate journey of resilience and healing.
The film premiered at Telluride in September, where our own David Ehrlich wrote in his review that the film “brings to life during the frequent scenes in which Helen trains Mabel to trust her, to come back to her when she calls and eventually to hunt with her. The bond doesn’t form overnight. At first, Foy plays Helen as someone who has an Apache rifle-like killing machine strapped to her arm, and although the actress went through extensive training to make her struggle to get her into the role. Like Tom Cruise riding a motorcycle off a cliff or Werner Herzog pulling a steamship over a hill (not personally, but you know what I mean), there’s an undeniable thrill to what Foy does.
Roadside Attractions will release “H Is for Hawk” in December for a one-week qualifying period, with a nationwide release on January 23, 2026. Watch the first trailer for the film below.
