A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography. It includes bees collecting nectar, ladybugs eating mites, snails mating, spiders wrapping their catch, a scarab beetle relentlessly pushing its ball of dung uphill, endless lines of caterpillars, an underwater spider creating an air bubble to live in, and a mosquito hatching.
Cinematography
Macro shots so intimate they feel invasive.
Editing
Turns bug behavior into Shakespearian tragedy.
Sound
Insect noises become a full orchestral experience.
Director
Claude Nuridsany
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The filmmakers spent three years shooting and invented specialized micro-lenses and robotic camera rigs just for this film.
Released during the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, it helped pioneer the 'nature documentary as art film' movement that Planet Earth later perfected.
FR
