Film Society, "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill," Food @ 7:15, Film @ 8, Town Hall - Friday, September 10, 2010

 
This is the true story of a Bohemian "St. Francis" and his remarkable relationship with a flock of wild green-and-red parrots. Mark Bittner, a dharma bum, a homeless street musician in San Francisco, falls in with the flock as he searches for meaning in his life -- unaware that the wild parrots will bring him everything he needs. Mark's ambition was to be a great novelist, but he decided to pursue a career in music after thinking of the alarmed by the uniformly miserable fates of all the writers whom he loved. He moved to San Francisco determined to sink or swim as a poet-singer-songwriter - and sank. Completely bereft, he turned to spiritual seeking and ended up on the street where he spent the next 14 years. Ultimately his search led him to a wild parrot flock, which, in turn, led him back to writing, and his first book: 'The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill.' The hardcover edition, published by Random House, was a best seller.