Woods Hole Film Festival 2009

Imagine cramming 128 million people onto an island the size of Montana – you would be pretty close to replicating the density of Japan. Not surprisingly, space is at a premium and ergonomic design is next to godliness. Yet, even in Tokyo, the pinnacle of this figurative “can of sardines,” people of all ages still make room for a little bit of wilderness. It is only fitting that they have become captivated by nature’s most efficient invention in space, design and function – insects. Sold live in vending machines and department stores; plastic replicas included as prizes in the equivalent of a McDonald’s Happy Meal; the subject of the No.1 videogame MushiKing; and from the smallest backyard to the top of Mt. Fuji, insects inspire an enthusiasm in Japan seen nowhere else in this world. “Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo” explores the mystery of why Japan developed this unique enriching social relationship with insects. Working backward like a detective story, the film unlocks the mystery behind Japan’s love affair with insects. First stop is modern Japan where a single beetle recently sold for $90,000. From there we are transported to the Edo period and the consequent explosion of nature in art and war. Peering back to the early 1800s, the first cricket selling business and the development of haiku and other forms of insect literature are revealed. The historical adventure travels all the way back to the 8th century and the stories of Emperor Jimmu who named Japan the “Isle of the Dragonflies.” Along the way the film takes side trips to Zen temples and Buddhist Shrines, nature preserves and art museums in its quest for the inspirations that sent Japan in this direction while other cultures hurtled off towards an almost universal and profound fear of insects. Interspersed with the philosophies of one of Japan’s best-selling authors and anatomist, Dr. Takeshi Yoro, and scattered with poetry and art from Japan’s history, this film becomes about much more than insects. The film quietly challenges the viewer to observe the world from an uncommon perspective that will shift the familiar to the fantastic and just might change not only the way we think about bugs, but the way we think about life.

Explores the life and adventures of the eccentric artist and entrepreneur Harrod Blank, a creator of spectacles such as the Camera Van-- a Dodge van with 2000 cameras attached to it – and The Flash Suit- a man’s suit festooned with hundreds of photo flash bulbs going off. The film follows Blank from his youth spent in the woods with chickens, to his current multi-faceted career as filmmaker and art-car maven extraordinaire. A tireless champion of self-expression, Blank chases dreams and attacks obstacles with a creative vigor that is refreshing to witness. The first documentary feature by Berkeley filmmaker David Silberberg, Oh My God! It’s Harrod Blank! uses footage spanning two decades to celebrate the man just as it exposes his naivete, and the particularly trying effects his extroversion has on those around him. Blank's family, friends, and girlfriends take turns criticizing, advising, and explaining a guy whose uncommon openness and resilience can tolerate such a forum, even as viewers laugh and squirm. Rounding out the film's point of view is Blank's own painful, often hilarious examination of his personal life and challenges, from his need for attention to such obsessions as encroaching baldness. Blank's spirited outlook is undeniably inspiring, and the film embodies a contagious affection for him as both bigger-than-life and so very human. 'The pressure to conform is incredible,' says Blank, 'but I don't care what other people think. The reason I'm alive is to create.' With special appearances from Harrod Blank’s filmmaking father Les Blank, revealing details of his early career.