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.
| Location | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1984 |
| Website | Official Festival Website |
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]
| Year | Theme | Attendance | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Ant | Unknown | Foellinger Auditorium |
| 2023 | Arthropod[5] | Unknown | Foellinger Auditorium |
| 2022 | Venom[6] | Unknown | Online |
| 2021 | Fleas[7] | Unknown | Online |
| 2020 | Crustacea[8] | Unknown | Foellinger Auditorium |
| 2019 | Termites[9] | Unknown | Foellinger Auditorium |
| 2018 | Ticks[10] | Unknown | Foellinger Auditorium |
| 2017 | Illini Alumnus Paul Hertzberg Insect Fear Films[11] | Unknown | Foellinger Auditorium |
References
edit- ^ "Professor's 'insect fear film fest' to focus on beetles, real and imagined". University of Illinois. Retrieved December 11, 2008.[dead link]
- ^ "Insect Fear Film Festival Update..." University of Illinois. December 9, 1999. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
- ^ a b c d 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.
- ^ Angier, Natalie (February 18, 1991). "What's Creepy, Crawly and Big in Movies? Bugs". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
- ^ Leskosky, Richard J. (26 February 2023). "Mad About the Movies | Bugs back in the flesh at 40th annual Insect Fear Film Festival". The News-Gazette. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ Tetlie, Jon; Hsieh, Ed. "39th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival". School of Integrative Biology News. University of Illinois. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
- ^ Tetlie, Jon; Clem, Scott. "38th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival" (PDF). Publish.illinois.edu. University of Illinois. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
- ^ Clem, Scott; Tetlie, Jon. "37th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival" (PDF). Publish.illinois.edu. University of Illinois.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Johnson, Todd (16 February 2017). "Annual Insect Fear Film Festival Feb. 25". Effingham Daily News. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
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