THE amazing story of the cahow is spreading around the world through the film , which is piling up accolades.

And demand from locals for the DVD has been far outstripping supply.

This week the documentary was selected as a finalist in the International Wildlife Film Festival in Missoula, Montana.

Scheduled to take place from May 13 to 20, it is one of the largest wildlife film festivals in the world and has attracted more than 300 films. was produced by Castletown Productions, in partnership with the Bermuda Audubon Society, and it premiered in Bermuda earlier this year.

The film focuses on the conservation story of Nonsuch Island and the cahow. Bermuda Audubon Society president Andrew Dobson was delighted with the results of the judging in Missoula.

"I am thrilled to report that Bermuda's was chosen as a finalist in several categories," Mr. Dobson said. "It received two merit awards ? firstly for 'Strong Main Character' and secondly for 'Positive Message'."

"Not surprisingly, and , two magnificent films which were box office hits at commercial theatres world-wide, took many top honours, while the Best of Festival was won by David Attenborough's new series .

"It is therefore immensely satisfying that amongst such illustrious company our own film received recognition. It has been selected for screening at the festival and will be shown on May 18."

Mr. Dobson added that there had been enormous demand for the DVD of from locals.

"As quickly as we supply more copies, they are gone!" he said. "The Society is making more available, and they should be in stock this week."

The DVD is being sold at a cost of $20 at The Farmers' Market, The Body Shop and Leisure Time (Hamilton), Aquarium Giftshop (Flatts), Bermuda Memories (St. George's) and Audio Visual Electronics (Somerset).

Proceeds from the sales will help to pay the cost of providing every school in Bermuda with its own copy.

Meanwhile, there is further exposure for the Irish version of the documentary . The story of Nonsuch Island and the cahow is compared with a small group of islands in southwest Ireland.

This documentary received two Honourable Mentions at the Missoula Festival for "Inspiring Message" and for "Photography".

The TV documentary was first aired on Christmas Day on Irish network RTE2, attracting nearly 100,000 viewers. Now it will be shown on RTE1 (which has a much higher audience) on Easter Monday, April 17, at 6.30 p.m.

The documentary was also shown as the featured presentation at the annual Birdwatch Ireland conference in Dublin last week. Both the film's producer, Deirdre Brennan, and director Eamon de Buitlear were invited to talk about the documentary.

Another film on the cahow, , by Bermudian documentarian Lucinda Spurling, was shown at the Bermuda International Film Festival last month and earned rave reviews.