H Is for Hawk film brings the memoir's hawk-and-grief relationship to screen.

The film adaptation of Helen Macdonald’s memoir H Is for Hawk, directed by Philippa Lowthorpe and co-written with Emma Donoghue, stars Claire Foy as Helen and features several trained goshawks including the bird called Mabel. The production captures real hawk flight and hunting and highlights Helen’s process of grieving after her father’s death.

The film adaptation of Helen Macdonald’s memoir H Is for Hawk was directed by Philippa Lowthorpe with a screenplay by Lowthorpe and Emma Donoghue. Claire Foy plays Helen, a Cambridge history of science lecturer who copes with her father’s sudden death by forging an intense relationship with a goshawk named Mabel. The production emphasizes long, intimate sequences of Helen and the bird, using trained goshawks and real hunting footage filmed with drones. Production was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic; during the delay the producer purchased young birds so several trained goshawks would be available when filming resumed. Key details: - The film is directed by Philippa Lowthorpe and co-written by Lowthorpe and Emma Donoghue. - Claire Foy stars as Helen; Brendan Gleeson plays her father, Alisdair. - Several different goshawks portray Mabel, and hunting sequences were filmed for real rather than staged. - Foy trained with the birds for two weeks before shooting and continued training through a seven-week shoot. - Producer Dede Gardner bought six chicks during the COVID pause so the birds would be ready; the article notes an approximate cost in England and that goshawks can live many years in captivity. Summary: The film brings elements of the book to the screen by showing how the hawk and Helen shape one another and by presenting unvarnished scenes of flight and feeding as part of a portrait of grief. It frames mourning through this human-animal relationship rather than a conventional pet story. Undetermined at this time.