‘Bird’s Eye’ director Scott Poiley in the spotlight
Last night, the 4th Annual Bonita Springs Film Festival screened its Shorts Package II. The assemblage of indie films consisted of seven high-quality pictures, including a 13-minute drama titled Bird’s Eye written by and starring Erin Beute and directed by Scott Poiley.
Like the protagonist in Bird’s Eye, Scott Poiley’s trajectory as a dancer and aspiring musical theatre actor was derailed by physical infirmity. In Scott’s case, he was forced to stop dancing when he discovered he had an enlarged heart. Undaunted, he channeled his creative energies into filmmaking and completed his MFA in Producing from the University of Miami. (He already had a BFA in Theatrical Studies Niagara University.)
Once again, fate intervened. 
Just as his film career was begin to untrack, he learned that his heart was working at just 1% and he needed a heart transplant in order to save his life. In the summer of 2014, he was blessed with a new heart after just 20 days on the transplant list.
Poiley has made the most of his second chance at life. Today, he is an award-winning writer, producer, and director. Scott began developing original feature-length content in 2013, and since then he has written and produced Cassadaga (2013), Missionary
(2014), Last Shift (2015) and Her Last Will (2016). Scott wrote and directed Exhume (2016), Misfits (2017), Goose (2017), The Secret Book (2017), and The Nutcracker (2017). He has won several awards including the iHORROR AWARD for Best Direct Release Horror Film and the GOLDEN SKULL award for Best Supernatural Film for Last Shift. He recently won THE CREATIVE AWARDS GRAND JURY PRIZE for his Sci-fi script Vitruvian.
“I am often attracted to projects with strong female leads, and this was definitely the case for Bird’s Eye,” says Poiley. “Dr. McAllister pulled at my heartstrings from page one. The script opens with our female protagonist suffering over her inability to hit the mark of her own expectation of perfection. 
McAllister’s emotional moment is suddenly interrupted by a female student, determined to fight her inadequate grade. The moment that follows reminds me a lot of Mozart in Amadeus. Much like Mozart, McAllister’s body fails her under the insurmountable demands she places on her music. She suffers a horrible diabetic hemorrhage culminating in 
the loss of her sight.
“Her emotional fortitude is beautifully complicated. Strength is not measured by a simple calculation; it is the culmination of defeating our own worst fears,” Poiley concludes.
Poiley loved every minute of McAllister’s journey. Audiences will love every minute watching her and the rest of the talented cast in the enigmatically titled Bird’s Eye, a riveting 13-minute dramatic short.
February 24, 2019.
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About the Author
Tom Hall is both an amateur artist and aspiring novelist who writes art quest thrillers. He is in the final stages of completing his debut novel titled "Art Detective," a story that fictionalizes the discovery of the fabled billion-dollar Impressionist collection of Parisian art dealer Josse Bernheim-Jeune, thought by many to have perished during World War II when the collection's hiding place, Castle de Rastignac in southern France, was destroyed by the Wehrmacht in reprisal for attacks made by members of the Resistance operating in the area. A former tax attorney, Tom holds a bachelor's degree as well as both a juris doctorate and masters of laws in taxation from the University of Florida. Tom lives in Estero, Florida with his fiancee, Connie, and their four cats.