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Mónica López-González: Why focus on beetles, given the insect-rich culture that
Jessica Oreck: Beetles would be an obvious choice because they are the most extravagant. Just the idea of paying a few hundred dollars for a beetle would perk anyone’s attention. But I actually don’t think I focus that thoroughly on beetles. All of the historical texts and much of the modern footage drifts between fireflies, dragonflies, butterflies and crickets. The title is a bit misleading.
MLG: You craft a very visually beautiful poetic documentary about a cherished symbol of
JO: Absolutely. Initially when planning the project I had certain biological concepts that I wanted to share, but as we were filming, and as the film was beginning to shape itself in my mind and on paper, it became clear that actually talking about the insects themselves would detract from the true narrative of the film. I think the film is not really about bugs at all, but about the way the Japanese experience the natural world and how that has been shaped by their history. In turn, I hope that the film might encourage the audience to question if their perspective on nature is merely a product of their western conditioning.
MLG: You focus a lot on the generational importance of cultivating a love for this insect (i.e. you present the enthusiastic response and learning from childhood to adulthood) and leave the historical aspect to few moments of narration. Why?
JO: I knew I didn’t want re-enactments or (many) talking heads – so voice-over seemed the best method to convey these ideas. I am extremely opposed to a voice-over that is telling the audience the exact same thing as they are seeing, so I wanted to create juxtapositions that would add another layer to the narration, not just compliment it. And since so many of the ideas in the narration are quite complicated, I wanted to give the audience the choice to listen (read the subtitles) or just sit back and watch the images tell their own story. I didn’t want anyone to feel like the film was trying to tell them what they needed to be thinking, or even necessarily what they needed to be paying attention to. I really love the idea that someone could re-watch the film at a later date and have a completely different experience from their first viewing.
MLG: The use of light in your film is quite extraordinary. Much of the light almost mimics the movement of flying moths, the rhythm of the cicadas, and the crawl of the beetle. Can you explain further how you decided to incorporate such a visual technique to complement the subject of your film?
JO: My cameraman, Sean Williams, was a given this project – not because he is my boyfriend – but because the nature of his camera work is so dazzling. He has the ability to create these beautifully abstract frames that fall into clarity in a really startling way. He compels people to look at light and objects in ways that their eyes wouldn’t necessarily see, which is what I hope my whole film accomplishes on a more intangible, psychological level. The images he created so obviously lent themselves to such analogies, that it fell into place very naturally.
MLG: Are you working to have this film being bought by museums? Maybe even creating an exhibit/installation-type presentation?
JO: In the next month we are hoping to begin launching our 50-city museum, library, university and grassroots tour. Since Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo appeals to niche audiences, our plan for the film is to generate word-of-mouth excitement through specific audiences associated with entomology, philosophy and religious studies. From there we hope to build an interest with the general public, eco-villages, nature preserves, ecological institutions and other grassroots organizations interested in the way that Westerner’s perceive nature. If any readers out there know of any institutions or societies that might be interested in showing the film, please contact me via the website (beetlequeen.com)!
MLG: You mentioned your next project is on mushrooms. Can you talk more about it?
JO: The next film is essentially about mushrooms, yes. It will deal with the science of fungi, but like Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo, it will use them as a platform for the exploration of culture, history and basic human behaviors. An excerpt from a rough treatment I put together:
“Throughout Central and Eastern Europe, families and individuals, city people and country folk alike, trek deep into the wilderness at the height of the fall season in search of edible mushrooms.
Following the descent of autumn across the woodlands of Eastern Europe, the film wanders deep into the haunted forests of war-torn countries. From Slovakia to Albania, and from Slovenia to the far edge of Romania, mushroom hunting becomes a passageway into the history of these disparate cultures. Scattered with fairytales and personal memoirs, the film uncovers the psychology surrounding the mythic qualities of these forests – and the science behind their most startling inhabitants.
In our imagination, a dense wood is something slightly menacing – something dark, foreboding, maybe even frightening. This idea is often rooted in the fairytales and fantasies of our childhood. It is associated with losing ones way, big bad wolves, witches, gnomes, and very often, mushrooms.
When a country is at war, the forest becomes a safe-haven, a place of hope, an escape. This film’s intent is to map the shift in that perspective – the way something instinctively sinister is transformed into something secure and precious.
By exploring the socio-political, literary and personal histories of these war-torn countries, the film reveals the roles that woodlands – represented by the mysterious mushroom – play in the psychology and sociology of fear, imagination and survival.”
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