Insect Fear Film Festival

Last updated
The Insect Fear Film Festival
LocationUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States
Founded1984
Website Official Festival Website

The Insect Fear Film Festival or IFFF is an annual event held every spring, typically on a Saturday in February, since 1984. [1] It is hosted by the Entomology Graduate Students Association in the Department of Entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Although its slogan said: "scaring the general public with horrific films and horrific filmmaking," the purpose of this event is aimed to dispel fears of insects of the general public by providing relative insect knowledge.

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Its format has generally consisted of two or three feature-length films alternating with animated or live-action shorts that illustrate various aspects of insect biology. [2] This event is typically held alongside an insect petting zoo, an insect art contest for local K-12 students, insect face painting, insect balloon folding, the Bugscope (scanning electron microscope), and other activities.

The film festival's founder, entomology professor and department head May Berenbaum, conceived the idea as a graduate student at Cornell University, where it was deemed undignified. Berenbaum was able to execute the project after joining the University of Illinois faculty in 1980. [3]

The festival is usually organized around themes. These have included insect invasions, as exemplified by The Naked Jungle and The Swarm , metamorphosis, cockroaches, mosquitos, and entomologists themselves. [3] Every year, T-shirts with the year theme are designed and sold during events to support relative insect outreach event costs. Due to the pandemic, the 38th IFFF in 2021 was held online, marking the first of two consecutive years in which the event took place virtually. In 2023, it returned to Foellinger Auditorium at UIUC.

The most popular offering at the festival, according to the National Wildlife Federation's magazine in 1995, has been Beginning of the End , which features giant grasshoppers invading the city of Chicago after consuming radiation-treated vegetables. [3]

Media outlets covering the festival have included the Canadian Broadcasting Company, National Public Radio, the Washington Post , and The New York Times . [3] [4]

Annual Insect Fear Film Festival (IFFF)

41st Annual Insect Fear Film Festival (IFFF)

The theme of the 41st Annual Insect Fear Film Festival (IFFF) was "Ant-Men" providing attendees with a unique and entertaining way to explore the fascinating world of ants, a highly social insect. The event highlighted ants' complex behaviors and drew intriguing parallels to human life. The films featured included *The Ant Bully* (2006), in which a 10-year-old boy is shrunk to ant size by a colony to teach him a lesson, and *Ant-Man* (2015), which follows a superhero who uses size-changing technology to communicate with ants. [5]

40th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival

In 2023, the 40th annual Insect Fear Film Festival (IFFF) focused on "living fossil" arthropods - species that have remained largely unchanged for millions of years. Featured films included "Joe's Apartment" (1996), in which cockroaches help their roommate fight developers, and "The Monster That Challenged the World" (1957), in which giant velvet worms wreak havoc in California. The festival also screened trailers for other films about living fossils and three episodes of "Pike's Lagoon" (2018-19), an animated series about a horseshoe crab. May Berenbaum, the festival's founder and head of the Department of Entomology, introduced the films, presented the art awards, and explained the biology behind 'living fossils', highlighting where the films got the science right - and where they went wrong. [6]

39th annual Insect Fear Film Festival

The 39th annual Insect Fear Film Festival (IFFF), themed "Venomous," took place online via Zoom on February 26, 2022, hosted by the Entomology Graduate Students Association at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This year's festival featured a variety of engaging and educational activities, including a special presentation by Justin Schmidt, creator of the Schmidt Sting Pain Index, which rates the pain caused by insect stings. Attendees could explore a virtual insect petting zoo, learn about venomous insects through the Bugscope, and take a virtual tour of the Illinois Natural History Survey's insect collection. The event also included fun and interactive elements such as bee ventriloquism, insect-themed crafts, and an art contest featuring insect-themed artwork created by local K-12 students. The film program consisted of a mix of animated and live short films divided into three segments: first, exaggerated comic depictions of insect stings; second, dramatic or humorous reactions to stings, including severe allergic reactions such as anaphylaxis; and third, scientific insights into the world of venomous arthropods, showcasing their various venom delivery methods and potential beneficial uses. A highlight was a live stinging demonstration to provide a first-hand look at the process of venom delivery. The festival highlighted the fascinating diversity of venomous insects, from honeybee stings used for self-defense to predatory wasps that paralyze prey for their larvae. The event successfully blended education and entertainment, providing an interactive and engaging experience for all participants. [7]

38th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival

The 38th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival (IFFF), themed "Featuring Fleas," was held for the first time online via Zoom on February 27, 2021, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The festival focused on fleas, exploring their fascinating biology and behavior, including their role as blood-feeding parasites and their remarkable ability to jump up to 50 times their body length. Highlights of the festival included a flea circus featuring Dr. Tim Cockerill of Falmouth University in England, who demonstrated the acrobatic talents of live fleas. Other activities included a virtual insect petting zoo, a flea bugscope that allowed attendees to learn about fleas up close, and flea-themed crafts. A virtual tour of the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) insect collection provided a glimpse into the diversity of insects, including flea specimens. The film program featured a century of flea-related films, shorts, and documentaries that explored the cultural and scientific significance of fleas, as well as their role in transmitting diseases such as the bubonic plague. The festival also included a virtual art contest featuring insect-themed artwork created by local K-12 students. This event marked a unique shift to an online format that offered an engaging mix of education, entertainment, and interactive experiences. [8]


YearSessionThemeAttendanceLocation
202441st Ant [9] Unknown Foellinger Auditorium
202340th Living Fossil Arthropod [10] Unknown Foellinger Auditorium
202239th Venom [7] UnknownOnline
202138th Featuring Fleas [8] UnknownOnline
202037th Crustacea [11] Unknown Foellinger Auditorium
201936th Termites [12] Unknown Foellinger Auditorium
201835th Ticks [13] Unknown Foellinger Auditorium
201734th Illini Alumnus Paul Hertzberg Insect Fear Films [14] Unknown Foellinger Auditorium


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References

  1. ↑ "Professor's 'insect fear film fest' to focus on beetles, real and imagined". University of Illinois . Retrieved December 11, 2008.[ dead link ]
  2. ↑ "Insect Fear Film Festival Update..." University of Illinois. December 9, 1999. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Kuznik, Frank (1995). "Revenge of the bugs 101 - University of Illinois's Insect Fear Film Festival". National Wildlife Federation through Bnet . Archived from the original on March 23, 2007. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
  4. ↑ Angier, Natalie (February 18, 1991). "What's Creepy, Crawly and Big in Movies? Bugs". The New York Times . Retrieved December 11, 2008.
  5. ↑ "Insect Fear Film Festival to feature buggy movies and 'ant'ics at U of I". MyWabashValley.com. 2024-02-20. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  6. ↑ LESKOSKY, RICHARD J. (2023-02-26). "Mad About the Movies | Bugs back in the flesh at 40th annual Insect Fear Film Festival". The News-Gazette. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  7. 1 2 "39th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival" (PDF). School of Integrative Biology News. University of Illinois. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  8. 1 2 "38th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival" (PDF). Publish.illinois.edu. University of Illinois. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  9. ↑ "Insect Fear Film Festival to feature buggy movies and 'ant'ics at U of I". MyWabashValley.com. 2024-02-20. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  10. ↑ LESKOSKY, RICHARD J. (2023-02-26). "Mad About the Movies | Bugs back in the flesh at 40th annual Insect Fear Film Festival". The News-Gazette. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  11. ↑ Clem, Scott; Tetlie, Jon. "37th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival" (PDF). Publish.illinois.edu. University of Illinois.
  12. ↑ Innes, Elizabeth. "Entomology's 2019 Insect Fear Film Festival Touts the Terrific Termite". I-STEM Education Initiative News. University of Illinois. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  13. ↑ Innes, Elizabeth. "The 2018 Insect Fear Film Festival Helps Visitors Combat Fears and Entomophobias". I-STEM Education Initiative News. University of Illinois. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  14. ↑ Johnson, Todd (16 February 2017). "Annual Insect Fear Film Festival Feb. 25". Effingham Daily News. Retrieved 12 December 2022.


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