Edwardian Insects on Film

The story

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

C Charlie Hamilton JamesSelf - Presenter D David AttenboroughSelf D Dr Tim BoonSelf - Science Museum, London D David ClevelandSelf - Film Archivist T Tim CockerillSelf - Entomologist B Bryony DixonSelf - Curator, Silent Film, BFI J Jenny HammertonSelf - Film Archivist M Michael HarveySelf - National Media Museum P Percy SmithSelf - archive footage J John WinderSelf - Scientist & Collector