STF abuzz with COLONY

• by Raphaela Neihausen, November 06, 2009

New York City was a swarm with different kinds of bees on Tuesday night, as COLONY co-director Carter Gunn poses here at the Sixth Avenue newsstand outside the IFC Center. Inside the theater, it was a packed hive of activity for the film’s first sneak preview since its acclaimed world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The New York Times Urban Eye gave the following plug:

You’ve probably heard about the mass death of the world’s honeybees. Scientists are still debating how much to worry about it; filmmakers, though, are acting. The documentary “Colony” tackles the subject, shifting “seamlessly from macroimages of the swarming bees to close-ups of their fretting keepers who are struggling with the devastation,” Manohla Dargis writes. With its “attention to beauty, interview style and even pacing,” she compares the film to the works of Errol Morris.

In the Q&A, Gunn talked about the hazards of making the film, including 35 bee stings in one day. The screening attracted many STF newcomers, several of whom joined for the regular post-film celebration at the bar 99 Below.

Visitin gfrom out of town, Camden International Film Festival‘s producer Leah Hurley with founder/director Ben Fowlie.

Tatiana McCabe with filmmaker Ashley Sabine of Carnivalesque Films.

A farmer from Norway who discovered Stranger Than Fiction on Facebook - Baard Haus Sylling.

Also first-time STF attendees: documentary enthusiasts Leigh Johnson and Barry O’Flanagan.

Amie Segal of EyePop Productions with filmmaker Paul Devlin (BLAST)

STF passholders who are both editors: Cheree Dillon and Carla Ruff.

Filmmakers Hilla Medalia (AFTER THE STORM - which won the audience award at this year’s Woodstock Film Festival) and Yoni Brook (BRONX PRINCESS).  They are also two recent guest speakers at Thom’s NYU documentary class.

STF Executive Director Raphaela Neihausen reuniting with Angela Tseng, an old colleague from her former life as a management consultant.  Angela is now floor manager at Spice Market - yum!

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