Review Fix chats with filmmaker Andreas Johnsen his discusses his documentary at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.
About BUGS:
Equal parts culinary documentary, political conversation starter and travelogue, filmmaker Andreas Johnsen’s absorbing film, BUGS,  sets out to unearth the role bugs will play in the future of agriculture and race against corporate colonization of the insect-diet movement, and to break down the cultural barriers keeping insects off our plates. As we face the dangers of global warming, fast-depleting resources, and increase in food consumptions, BUGS offers a sense of urgency and creative ways establish sustainability in our daily meals.
Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this film?
Andreas Johnsen: Food! I LOVE food. I love cooking and I love the social aspect of food. And also I’m extremely curious, so when my friends at Nordic Food Lab told me about their three-year research project on edible insects, I knew I wanted to get
onboard and if possible make it into a film.
Review Fix: What moment do you think is the strongest in the film?
Johnsen: Well, there are many. I’m not sure, if I want to give away too much of the film, but for sure I can mention the turning point in the film. Ben and Josh are at the huge, international INSECTS TO FEED THE WORLD Conference in Wageningen in The Netherlands, and they realize how much money means for the whole argument of making an industry out of edible insects.
Also, a quite shocking moment for me was, when we were visiting an insect farm in The Netherlands and Ben asks the owners if they have tasted their own products and their answer is “Noâ€. I find it absurd and weird; they’re producing insects for human consumption and they don’t even know what it is?!
Review Fix: How hard was it to edit this?
Johnsen: Because of the abundance of material, it took quite a while, and I worked with several editors simultaneously. I’m quite happy with the result; we managed to make a very focused film, where the political layer has the room it needs. I had previous versions that were more focused on the personal side of the characters and their relationship. Luckily, I’m also making a TV-series out of the material so nothing will go to waste.
Review Fix: What do you want people to take away from this film?
Johnsen: I want people to be curious to other foods and then I want people to ask themselves very simply: Why do I eat what I eat? Could I be eating something that is produced in a more sustainable way, something that might even be healthier for me, my community and the planet?
Review Fix: Bottom line, why should someone watch it?
Johnsen: This film is about our future on this planet, it’s about food, so without a doubt it concerns all of us. Sometime in the future, we have to reconsider our food systems, what we eat and how we produce it. Actually, we should have done it decades ago. And I’m not saying that edible insects is the solution, but it might be part of the solution.
Review Fix: What’s next for you?
Johnsen: I’m making a film called “The Knight of Faith†with the Danish artist Alexander Tovborg, where I’m exploring the subjects of religion and art and their correlation.
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