The Apocalyptic Apiarist is a magical short film (6 minutes) that you should all watch. It is quite comical. OBSERVE: (click here to watch)
I first saw this at my hometown's film festival this summer. The director, John Richard, did a Q & A after the viewing. Basically, John worked at a camera store with David Heffner in downtown Iowa City. John thought that David was a pretty interesting dude, so they decided to film his everyday life for a couple of weeks.
My favorite scene was probably when David was up in the tree, cutting down the beehive. John said that they got a call at 5am from David one morning, saying that half of his bees escaped and had made a new hive. He then invited them to come over and film him as he took care of the situation. David is well known for not thinking things through, which is demonstrated as he attempts to cut down a branch containing the hive of angry bees without protective gear.
The only problem I have with this film is that the ending leaves off awkwardly. It's like there should be more, but it just ends. John said that he is cool with that because, "I would rather be left wanting more than to drag on."
John and his fellow filmmakers got a lot of footage during the few weeks they filmed David Heffner's life. They plan on making more shorts with this footage. The director admits that they made David seem crazier than he actually is, but everyone involved (including David) is very happy with the film.
One final fun-fact about this project: they sent this film to Doomsday Preppers. They met with David, but they decided that he wasn't extreme enough. As you can see from the film, he doesn't believe that he would do all that well in an apocalyptic situation.
Finally... something that combines my love of bees and film! In all seriousness though, I love documentaries. I think people should really watch more of them. Learning about different people and their eccentric lives is so fascinating, and of course the fact that it's true makes you feel so much more about the characters than a fictional movie ever could.
ReplyDeleteI would recommend the documentary "I Like Killing Flies" if you ever get the chance to see it... I think it's on Netflix. If you can get past the fact that it looks like it was filmed on someone's iPhone, its a fantastic watch. At least look it up on IMDb!
I agree! Documentaries are wonderful!
DeleteI thoroughly enjoyed "I Like Killing Flies" (yay, Netflix!). However, that dude is pretty disgusting. He man-handles all of the food without, it seems, washing his hands often. Plus the back room is so gross. You can see how nasty the restaurant is when they are moving all of their crap out.
I was very much entertained by the entire family and how they interacted with each other. They were all bizarre, and kind of crazy.
I also love that there were so many rules in place for customers. And when people were kicked out, they didn't seem to be all that mad. They laughed as they read the rules that they had "broken." The rules are worded in an absolutely hilarious, blunt way. Most restaurants shy away from insulting customers, but this guy doesn't even care. I think that his customers appreciate that he is real with them. The food must be amazing, considering everything the regular customers are willing to put up with.