I accidentally landed up in the theater that was showing "Feathered Cocaine" at the IDFA film festival in Amsterdam trying to see another film and I never expected the mind blow I was about to receive. Honestly this film made me cry in places and gasp with shock at the indisputable revelations that the intriguing and often powerful main character reveals. It is not just a great film for anyone who loves nature and cares about issues related, but an intriguing political thriller that will confirm a lot of conspiracy theorists suspicions with undeniable facts and move you from your core at times. If you have to watch one last movie before you die; let it be "Feathered Cocaine"

Feathered Cocaine is a riveting and bold documentary film about the world of falcon smuggling. This illegal, lucrative trade has had a serious impact on the sustainability of falcons and if kept intact, could destroy the whole population.Allan Parrot's remarkable tale reveals governmental corruption and the networking of royal Arab families and terrorist groups. His unyielding spirit and passion for his falcons is his sole weapon to defend these majestic birds of prey. Feathered Cocaine by Thorkell Hardarson and Orn Marino Arnarson is an amazing, very well crafted film, probably one of the bravest documentaries out there! An absolute must-see film!

Story of the illegal trade in falcons that is rapidly wiping out the falcon populations across the globe. The falcon's are brought to the Middle East where they are used for hunting. Unfortunately the birds can't survive there and they end up dying with in a month of their arrival. Alan Parrot, an American falconer who was responsible for the start of the falcon trade, is now fighting to stop what amounts to the wholesale destruction of the birds and the environment. Worse is the fact that the huge camps where the falcons are used for hunting have been linked at the means at which terrorists get supplies, information and money. However in an industry where one bird can be sold for several million dollars (they are more valuable than cocaine) no one wants to stop it because it means they won't get paid.Scary film is for the most part very enlightening and revealing about the way things seem to work in the world. This is clearly a situation where money and oil talk since more than once it was known that Osama Bin Laden and his cronies were falconing but no one did anything. Worse it a film where we are shown the environmental damage being done that no one (especially in Mongolia or the former Soviet states) wants to stop because there is simply too much money to be made.While the subject of the film is ten out of ten, the film itself is only a seven because its pacing is bit off. There are too many repeated or similar shots of the birds on peaches or in captivity and too much of the birds flying in the first half of the film. Its a bit too leisurely to start with the result that as the film goes farther and farther down the rabbit hole in the final half hour everything feels rushed.Very much worth seeing because it sheds light on a part of life we know nothing about, but which influences the way we live.

Falconry is merely the entry point into a world of international intrigue and global terrorist networks, which are the true focus of this gripping documentary. Prepare to have your preconceptions jostled as you sink ever deeper into a realm known by few, and seemingly, a realm that many powerful forces wish to remain unknown.The film's protagonist, Alan Parrot, seems by all accounts to be an unlikely hero: Mild mannered, a loner, a Caucasian American convert to Sikhism. But don't let the quiet demeanor fool you. Mr. Parrot is a fearless defender of the object of passion: Falcons the world over. In fact, he has made it his mission in life to save them from poachers and the black market, as well as the diluting of their gene pool through the lucrative creation of hybrids. Mr. Parrot make a fascinating a subject.'Feathered Cocaine' is stunning, revelatory, and not to be missed.