Edwardian Insects on Film
59m·Documentary·
Directed by
In 1908, amateur naturalist and pioneering filmmaker Percy Smith stunned early cinema goers with his footage of the juggling fly. Hailed as the father of Natural History film, Smith was a hugely influential visual pioneer, inventing many techniques that are still used today. Being both a genius and an eccentric, we follow his life from his earliest films, to the collapse of his house from his mould experiment to his ultimate suicide. We also meet Natural History icon Sir David Attenborough, who was so amazed by Smith’s films in the 1930s that they inspired him to get into natural history.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
 Charlie Hamilton JamesSelf - Presenter | Self - Presenter |
 David AttenboroughSelf | Self |
| DDr Tim BoonSelf - Science Museum, London | Self - Science Museum, London |
| DDavid ClevelandSelf - Film Archivist | Self - Film Archivist |
| TTim CockerillSelf - Entomologist | Self - Entomologist |
| BBryony DixonSelf - Curator, Silent Film, BFI | Self - Curator, Silent Film, BFI |
| JJenny HammertonSelf - Film Archivist | Self - Film Archivist |
| MMichael HarveySelf - National Media Museum | Self - National Media Museum |
| PPercy SmithSelf - archive footage | Self - archive footage |
| JJohn WinderSelf - Scientist & Collector | Self - Scientist & Collector |