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Robinson
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These are screen shots from Richard Robinson's experimental art film, - |
FOR MANY a filmmaker,
For Richard Knox Robinson of Orange, it was just the beginning.
His first major film, "The Beekeepers," was one of a few short films to be chosen in the coveted, cutting-edge "New Frontiers" segment
Robinson, a photographer who has worked for publications ranging from The Washington Post to Smithsonian magazine, made what he calls an artistic, experimental film that blends the history and Zen of bee-keeping with the crisis posed by a malady called Colony Collapse Disorder that's decimating hives around the globe.
Not bad for a student who used "The Beekeepers" as his thesis in his filmmaking graduate studies program
"I went to grad school essentially trying to find a new way to do a documentary," said Robinson from the impressive home in downtown Orange he and his wife created from a former commercial space. "With this validation from Sundance, I feel like I'm now really ready to expand and learn how to work with this model."
The model, which some might call edgy, uses intentional video and audio distortion, comically dated archival footage, simple
For example, he bracketed an interview with David Hackenberg, a beekeeper who discovered CCD, with the image of a TV set, then layered it with audio and video static.
The 28-minute color film, shot digitally, also includes a choppy video countdown, Ambrosian chants and quotes from Virgil and Aristophanes.
It has metaphor and poetry mixed with scientific fact and graphically heightened images to underscore the fact that bees have become the "canaries in the coal mine."
The difference in the two metaphors--canaries vs. bees--is that we can't simply choose not to go into the coal mine.
"It's the whole planet, and what's affecting the bees today may be affecting us tomorrow," said Robinson.
The idea for the film came from his own beekeeping and an article he read about CCD.
In between teaching photography classes as an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia and what was then Randolph-Macon Women's College and attending classes himself at VCU, Robinson started work on the film
Over a year, he shot more than 30 hours of interviews and footage.
It ranged from the interview with Hackenberg in Lewisburg, Pa., to footage of a Manhattan beekeeper to discussions with a NASA scientist in Maryland.
Virginia sessions with beekeepers, inspectors and more took him to Flint Hill, Madison and other stops.
As the project grew, Robinson said he realized he wouldn't be happy making a traditional documentary.
For one thing, both PBS and 60 Minutes were working on similar pieces, on similar deadlines.
Second, he realized any environmental topic is so politicized these days that the stakes are raised simply by the topic he chose.
But mainly, he was still looking for that mix of journalism, artistry and philosophy that he knew could become a powerful lens.
Not everyone has loved the approach. One screener didn't like all the static and stark images, and thought at first that maybe his DVD player was broken.
But the Sundance panel loved it, and the festival gave Robinson an amazing week in Utah, where he attended three of the film's four screenings and enjoyed networking with other filmmakers.
He's not sure what's next, though he's wondering if artistic films on the environment might be a focus.
In the short term, other film festivals have expressed interest in "The Beekeepers," and he has an idea or two left over from film school and earlier photo work.
"I really want the chance to experiment with this form and see where it can go."
Rob Hedelt: 540/374-5415
Email: rhedelt@freelancestar.com
