In recent years, American beekeepers have been observing a dramatic decline in the number of bee colonies across the United States. Colony is the story of the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder and the impact it has on American beekeepers.
The film is set in Californian bush lands where the Seppi family run their beekeeping business. It takes the audience through the Seppi’s personal journey and a very alarming outlook on the agriculture industry.
Something is killing off an enormous amount of bees in America and nobody knows why. Watching Colony, you can’t help feel the anxiousness and turmoil of the god-fearing Seppi family whose approach to conducting themselves personally and in business is full of integrity.
The film reports that 30% of our agriculture relies on pollination and if colony collapse disorder continues, America could be at risk of purchasing most or all of their vegetables from overseas.
Although the causes of the mysterious colony collapse disorder are unknown, the American beekeepers portrayed in this film clearly blame pesticides and in particular Bayer for producing chemical products that are so strong they even kill the bees.
The outlook of the beekeeping business as shown in Colony is pretty gloomy. The impact of the aptly named colony collapse disorder could have humongous repercussions, not only on the beekeepers themselves, but also on the whole world of agriculture and all the crops that rely on pollination to ultimately produce the fruits and vegetables that we eat.
Although some people may see these beekeepers as oddballs, the work they do is quite essential to our every day needs and Colony certainly reminds us of that. This film by Ross McDonnell and Carter Gunn is an unassuming eye opener and is sure to raise some eyebrows.
Winner of the Award for First Appearance at the 22nd International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (2009), Colony had its Australian Premiere at the 2010 Sydney Film Festival.
Green Times Verdict: Highly recommended!
Director Biographies
Carter Gunn is a documentary filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York. Since graduating from the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, Carter has worked extensively in both production and post-production on a wide ranging number of television shows and documentaries most notably HBOs ‘I am Animal: The Story of Ingrid Newkirk’, ‘No End in Sight’ and ‘Quest for Honor’.
‘Colony’ is his feature length directing debut.
Ross McDonnell was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1979. He completed his BA in Communications Studies at Dublin City University and his MA in Film from DIT. He has worked on a wide variety of commissions, long-term projects and grant awards as a photographer, cinematographer and director.
‘Colony’ is his first feature length film.
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Review written by Leor Shavel and Marion Di Benedetto
Images: all images supplied by and copyright of Fastnet Films
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