We see the fading steel town through the eyes of Gemma, a soon-to-be mother on the verge of adulthood. Scheme Birds is beautifully made with a real sense of heart. A young child classifies animals into 26 groups according to the alphabet. In a place where you “either get knocked up or locked up,” Gemma carves out brief moments of tenderness amidst the violence of her local scheme. As her childhood turns into motherhood, teenage troublemaker Gemma comes of age in her fading Scottish steel town. And now the best that Gemma, and most of the other kids in her working-class housing project or ‘scheme’ in Motherwell, Scotland, can hope for, is to get “locked up or knocked up”. Scheme Birds takes flight when it has the same fierce joy and pride in Motherwell that Gemma does. RATING: 4/5 For example, the first group of animals in this scheme includes ants, antelope, apes, and other animals that have common English names beginning with the letter A. Chris "Birdman" Andersen and Paris Dunn say they were set up. Strong-willed Gemma is such a character that Scheme Birds occasionally feels like a drama-doc, and its fly-on-the-wall style is always astute and empathetic as Gemma’s life twists unexpectedly. But in a place where "you either get knocked up or locked up," innocent games can easily turn into serious crime. A veracious, fiercely sympathetic look at a tight-knit community, Scheme Birds takes flight when it has the same fierce joy and pride in Motherwell that Gemma does. Their scheme is Jerviston, a place where you “either get knocked up or locked up,” where there’s been nothing to do since Margaret Thatcher closed the local steelworks in the 1980s. As Gemma’s life twists unexpectedly, the film follows her and the people in her life: her grandfather (who raised her after her mother left), her boyfriend Pat, her unlucky best friend Amy, and her neighbour JP. Scheme Birds centers on Scottish teenager Gemma and the people in her life: her grandfather, who raised her after her mother abandoned her; her boyfriend Pat; her unlucky best friend Amy; and her neighbor JP. Synopsis. Directed by Ellen Fiske, Ellinor Hallin. But in a place where “you either get knocked up or locked up,” innocent games can easily turn into serious crime. While perhaps overly narrative, it never condescends or seeks easy answers. Scheme Birds. How do the taxa that scientists use to classify animals differ from the child's classification scheme? While perhaps overly narrative, it never condescends or seeks easy answers. Gemma says scheme birds like her either get “locked up or knocked up”, so perhaps her path is set. As her childhood turns into motherhood, teenage troublemaker Gemma comes of age in her fading Scottish steel town. How NBA star, aspiring model became victims of a massive catfishing scheme out of Canada. Playing Tara, a convicted bank robber who is adjusting to life on the outside world after seven years behind bars, the British actress strips off for an intimate lesbian sex-scene. [15] Scheme Birds is nominated for the 2019 Award for Best Documentary Feature Film. SCHEME BIRDS bursts with the frustration of a generation of Scots let down by society’s promises.