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
Director
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