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Synopsis: Oscar-nominated director Markus Imhoof (The Boat is Full) tackles the vexing issue of why bees, worldwide, are facing extinction. With the tenacity of a man out to solve a world-class mystery, he investigates this global phenomenon, from California to Switzerland, China and Australia. Exquisite macro-photography of the bees (reminiscent of Microcosmos) in flight and in their hives reveals a fascinating, complex world in crisis.

Writes Eric Kohn in Indiewire: “Imhoof captures the breeding of queen bees in minute detail, ventures to a laboratory to witness a bee brainscan, and discovers the dangerous prospects of a hive facing the infection of mites. In this latter case, the camera’s magnifying power renders the infection in sci-fi terms, as if we’ve stumbled into a discarded scene from David Cronenberg’s The Fly.” This is a strange and strangely moving film that raises questions of species survival in cosmic as well as apiary terms.

Genre

Documentary

Rated

NR - Treat as PG

Language

English and German with English Subtitles

Run Time

95 minutes

Subtitles

English

Starring

Fred Jaggi (Himself)
Randolf Menzel (Himself)
John Miller (Himself)
Liane Singer (Herself)
Heidrun Singer (Herself)
Zhao Su Zhang (Herself)
Fred Terry (Himself)
Boris Baer (Himself)
Joseph MacIlvaine (Himself)
André Maritz (Himself)
Layne Pauly (Herself)
Robert Schneider (Himself)
Eric Robinson (Himself)
Elisabeth Schild (Herself)
Tiffany Bate (Herself)
Rodolfo Jaffe (Himself)
Andrin (Himself)
Barbara Baer-Imhoof (Herself)
Lucien (Himself)
Robert Hunger-Bühler (Narrator (voice))

Directed by

Markus Imhoof

Written by

Markus Imhoof

Produced by

Pierre-Alain Meier
Markus Imhoof
Thomas Kufus
Helmut Grasser

Edited by

Anne Fabini

Composer

Peter Scherer

Cinematographer

Attila Boa
Jörg Jeshel

Awards

Swiss Film Prize - Switzerland - 2013

Best Documentary (Markus Imhoof, Thelma Film)

Santa Barbara International Film Festival - USA - 2013

Jury Award for Best Documentary Film (Markus Imhoof)

German Film Awards - Germany - 2013

Film Award in Gold Best Documentary (Pierre-Alain Meier (producer), Helmut Grasser (producer), Thomas Kufus (producer), Markus Imhoof (director) Allegro-Film, Zero One Film, Thelma Film AG)

Nominations

Palm Springs International Film Festival - USA - 2013

Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature

Quotes

Markus Imhoof's bee documentary is so stuffed with surreal tableaux it makes your head spin. - Charlotte O'Sullivan , London Evening Standard

Eye-popping photography should draw viewers to this thoughtful, revealing doc. - John DeFore , Hollywood Reporter

You can't beat the film's eye-popping visuals. - Gary Goldstein , Los Angeles Times

Country of Origin

Austria / Germany / Switzerland

Production Year

2012

Official Website

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