Film Screening: The Nightingale’s Song

About the Event

Join us for the screening of The Nightingale’s Song (40 mins), part of the Shifting Landscapes Film Series presented in partnership with Emergence Magazine.

This poetic documentary follows acclaimed British folk singer Sam Lee as he sings with nightingales in the forests of southern England. The film is a meditation on music, birdsong, and our relationship with the natural world at a time of ecological change.

Following the screening, we will host a facilitated reflection and discussion using the Shifting Landscapes Engagement Guide, offering space to connect the story of the film with your own landscape and community.

The Film

The Nightingale’s Song tells the story of Sam Lee, a folk singer who joins nightingales in spontaneous mutual song, honouring the ancient relationship between birdsong and folk song.

For over a million years, the voices of nightingales have filled England’s forests each summer, inspiring generations of writers, artists, and musicians. But climate change and development are threatening their nesting and wintering grounds, putting their presence in the UK at risk.

Through music and listening, Sam Lee conjures a relationship of care, stewardship, and love with these remarkable creatures and the living world we share.

Shifting Landscapes Film Series

The Nightingale’s Song is one of four films in the Shifting Landscapes series, which explores the power of art and story to orient us amid the darkness of our time. Each film follows an artist responding to profound changes in their landscape—from a melting glacier in Iceland to the vanishing song of the nightingale in southern England—offering new ways of seeing and being in connection with the Earth.

What’s On the Same Day

Make a day of it at Modern Painters, New Decorators:

• Food by Corita – Fresh bakes and seasonal drinks, served from 10AM until sold out.
• Chimera Island by Jessica Ashman – A solo exhibition in the Gallery Space.
• Greatest Hits by Studio at 17 – A group show in the Project Space.

Getting Here

By train: 15-minute walk from Loughborough station (direct services from Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, and London St Pancras). By bus: Aumberry Gap bus stop is directly opposite the venue (services from Leicester, Nottingham, Derby). By car: Short-stay parking directly outside (2-hour limit, 8am–6pm). By bike: Public racks on Jubilee Way (bikes not permitted inside the building).

Access

• The Project Space is wheelchair accessible with step-free entry.
• An accessible toilet is available onsite.
• Seating with back support is provided.
• For more information, visit our Access page.
• If you have any access requirements, please let us know when booking.

Tickets

This event is free, but booking is required. If you can no longer attend, please cancel your ticket so someone else can take your place.