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‘This is a really beautiful roach’, says Tequila Ray Snorkel, chief technology officer at the sustainable bug farming operation Ovipost, as she attempts to sell the audience on the charm of cockroaches – in particular, their lovely faces. And, as the film Bug Farm explores, Snorkel isn’t the only one on the small LaBelle, Florida farm who’s developed a fondness for insects that outsiders might find peculiar. A film at the intersection of farm labour, Southern US culture and humanity’s relationship with the insect world, the US director Lydia Cornett’s charming short documentary reveals how, when it comes to the workers dealing with critters most people find gross or pesky, often both, seeing them up close fosters a new appreciation.
Director: Lydia Cornett
Producers: Sean Weiner, Brit Fryer
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Animals and humans
Join seabirds as they migrate, encountering human communities along the way
13 minutes
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Stories and literature
Two variants of a Hindu myth come alive in an animated ode to Indian storytelling
14 minutes
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Technology and the self
The commodified childhood – scenes from two sisters’ lives in the creator economy
14 minutes
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Fairness and equality
There’s a dirty side to clean energy in the metal-rich mountains of South Africa
10 minutes
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Food and drink
The passage of time is a peculiar thing in a 24-hour diner
14 minutes
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Anthropology
For an Amazonian female shaman, ayahuasca ceremonies are a rite and a business
30 minutes
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Gender
A filmmaker responds to Lars von Trier’s call for a new muse with a unique application
16 minutes
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Computing and artificial intelligence
Why large language models are mysterious – even to their creators
8 minutes
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Spirituality
Through rituals of prayer, a monk cultivates a quietly radical concept of freedom
4 minutes