A PARADISE LOST is the enchanting, yet harrowing tale of a charming yellow finch at the heart of Palila v. Hawaii, a landmark case where nature took humanity to court to stave off extinction. The narrative unfolds through the eyes of an unlikely protagonist; a taxidermied Palila brought to stand as lead Plaintiff into court in 1979. Spearheaded by a scientist-activist, Palila's legal battle leveraged the nascent Endangered Species Act, casting a spotlight on the plight of 2,500 Palila. As a rare bird on the brink, they barely cohabitated alongside thousands of feral sheep and goats. Introduced by Europeans in the 1700s these remnant herds were maintained by the State of Hawaii for recreational hunting. The Defense claimed they were managing both resources evenly. Palila’s attorney handily won the case, but in a cruel irony, populations declined while hunters and state managers fought the federal order, returning court 5 more times. Today the lawsuit is still ongoing. In 2024, only 300 Palila cling to existence on the slopes of Maunakea, a sacred mountain revered by indigenous Hawaiians. Over forty years the struggle for Palila’s survival intensifies amidst escalating threats of wildfires and drought due to climate change, introduced predators, new diseases, encroachment of feral livestock, and governmental neglect. In 2017, Native Hawaiian conservationist Kala Asing led Palila projects, working to change the trajectory of declining populations by implementing biocultural stewardship, studying feeding ecology, and long term monitoring. He works with several groups to return captive-bred Palila to the wild, culminating in the release of young Palila into the wild in 2019. Using a blend of animation, archival, interviews and vérité, we bring to life the plight of endangered Hawaiian birds, as well their interconnected stories of life, death, rebirth and recovery in the Extinction Capital of the World.