What is the film about?

Chirpy is a bright blue bird in a nest full of grey siblings – and he sticks out in more ways than one. While the others seem to have everything figured out, Chirpy’s wild and wobbly attempts at flying usually end in a crash. From makeshift inventions to bold leaps of faith, he’ll try anything to get off the ground.

The director, Molly Hill, embraces her ADHD as a source of creativity and drew from that experience to shape Chirpy’s endless enthusiasm, unpredictable problem-solving, and refusal to give up. Her goal was to create a character that reflects neurodivergent traits in a positive, joyful light – one that children and adults can all relate to and root for.

Full of heart, humour, and a whole lot of bumpy landings, First Flight explores the messy and magical path to finding your wings.

What influenced it?

As the director, I brought a lot of myself into Chirpy’s character. I have ADHD, and Chirpy’s endless enthusiasm, unpredictable problem-solving, and refusal to give up are very much inspired by how I see the world. My aim was to create a character that reflects neurodivergent traits in a positive, joyful light – one that children of all kinds can relate to and root for.

A little background information...

I made the film for my final major project at University while I was doing my BA Hons in Computer Animation.

I wanted to create a story of a bird who reflected myself and my own experiences growing up – not fitting in, trying too hard, having HUGE dreams, and struggling socially, but never giving up. And I’m sure that there are many other people out there who can relate to this, so I hope that they can see themselves in Chirpy.

How was the film made?

It was made using Maya for the animation, and substance painter for the modelling. The post production effects and compilation was done in After Effects and Premier Pro. The team that worked on this film was a mixture of 2nd year and 3rd year students! The ENTIRE team was all students!! The film began production in January 2025 and was completed in May 2025.