Edwardian Insects on Film

In 1908, amateur naturalist and pioneering filmmaker Percy Smith stunned early cinema goers with his footage of the juggling fly. Hailed as the father of Natural History film, Smith was a hugely influential visual pioneer, inventing many techniques that are still used today. Being both a genius and an eccentric, we follow his life from his earliest films, to the collapse of his house from his mould experiment to his ultimate suicide. We also meet Natural History icon Sir David Attenborough, who was so amazed by Smith’s films in the 1930s that they inspired him to get into natural history.

Cast

Charlie Hamilton James

Self - Presenter

David Attenborough

Self

Dr Tim Boon

Self - Science Museum, London

David Cleveland

Self - Film Archivist

Tim Cockerill

Self - Entomologist

Bryony Dixon

Self - Curator, Silent Film, BFI

Jenny Hammerton

Self - Film Archivist

Michael Harvey

Self - National Media Museum

Percy Smith

Self - archive footage

John Winder

Self - Scientist & Collector