Watch Whirlybird

Whirlybird, a 2020 documentary, directed by Matt Yoka, and produced by Diane Becker, Dan Braun, and Matt Yoka is a testament to the pursuit of adrenaline that takes us deep into the lives of a family of news choppers, the Tur family aloft. Shot over the course of three decades, Marika Gerrard and Zoey Tur are the pioneers of L.A.'s first new chopper era. With their rainbow painted chopper, the couple filmed some of the most dramatic footage of the city's uprising, high-speed pursuits, and ferocious fires, quickly becoming the go-to for major news outlets.

The documentary follows the life of this couple, who shift the paradigm of news reporting in the city. Gerrard and Tur understood the value of time when big stories break, and they mastered the art of capturing the stories and broadcasting them live in their chopper, the "Whirlybird."

Whirlybird directs us through the stories, including the one where they capture live footage of two huge fires started by arsonists. They are able to follow live the eruption of the fires as the flames crawl out of the windows of two buildings.

The story progresses further with the addition of Katy Tur, daughter of Marika and younger sibling of Zoey. Katy Tur, who worked as a journalist for NBC News in her early years, narrates the story of her family's chopper business, while also covering some of the major news events in the US.

Through the documentary, we see Katy's journey from the newsroom to the sky, taking up her parents' legacy and engaging in the adrenaline-fueled experience of reporting in the chopper. In the process of narrating the journey, Katy also shares some of the moments of their life on the chopper. She tells the viewers about the time they landed on top of a skyscraper, getting a photo opportunity with Tom Cruise, and how her brother became the highlight of their airtime after performing a backflip from the chopper.

We witness the lives of this family on a personal level, getting introduced to their household life in their multimillion-dollar mansion on the hills of Los Angeles. We get to know the delicate relationship that exists within the family and how they manage to maintain it despite the ups and downs in their lives.

The story oscillates between ecstatic and tragic moments throughout the documentary, It retells the story of the tragic events on which the family had to report, including, the infamous O.J. Simpson car chase and the Los Angeles riots. The documentary cleverly takes us through the events, including the crisis management that the family faced, to report the news, all while making it seem effortless.

Moreover, Whirlybird also rekindles some of the most crucial social and political moments of America, including the Rodney King incident, which had a far-reaching effect on the country's political and social landscape.

At the end of the documentary, Katy reflects on the risks that her family took, both in their business and personal life. Whirlybird ends with an apt message of how the family's aerial reporting allowed them to be the eyes and ears of Los Angeles, providing the real-time information to viewers all over the town.

Overall, Whirlybird is an exhilarating and emotional documentary that captures the true essence of pioneering journalism. It's a one-of-a-kind story that hasn't been told before and showcases the challenges, the pain, and the joy that comes from reporting the news from atop the world.

Whirlybird is a 2021 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour and 43 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.0 and a MetaScore of 69.