---
title: "Insect Fear Film Festival"
chunk: 3/7
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect_Fear_Film_Festival"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:24:47.468923+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

=== 39th annual Insect Fear Film Festival (2022) ===
The 39th IFFF, themed "Venomous," took place online via Zoom on February 26, 2022. This year's festival featured a variety of engaging and educational activities, including a special presentation by Justin Schmidt, creator of the Schmidt Sting Pain Index, which rates the pain caused by insect stings. Attendees could explore a virtual insect petting zoo, learn about venomous insects through the Bugscope, and take a virtual tour of the Illinois Natural History Survey's insect collection. The event also included fun and interactive elements such as bee ventriloquism, insect-themed crafts, and an art contest featuring insect-themed artwork created by local K-12 students. The film program consisted of a mix of animated and live short films divided into three segments: first, exaggerated comic depictions of insect stings; second, dramatic or humorous reactions to stings, including severe allergic reactions such as anaphylaxis; and third, scientific insights into the world of venomous arthropods, showcasing their various venom delivery methods and potential beneficial uses. A highlight was a live stinging demonstration to provide a first-hand look at the process of venom delivery. The festival highlighted the fascinating diversity of venomous insects, from honeybee stings used for self-defense to predatory wasps that paralyze prey for their larvae. The event successfully blended education and entertainment, providing an interactive and engaging experience for all participants.

=== 38th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival (2021) ===
The 38th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival (IFFF), themed "Featuring Fleas," was held for the first time online via Zoom on February 27, 2021, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The festival focused on fleas, exploring their fascinating biology and behavior, including their role as blood-feeding parasites and their remarkable ability to jump up to 50 times their body length. Highlights of the festival included a flea circus featuring Dr. Tim Cockerill of Falmouth University in England, who demonstrated the acrobatic talents of live fleas. Other activities included a virtual insect petting zoo, a flea bugscope that allowed attendees to learn about fleas up close, and flea-themed crafts. A virtual tour of the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) insect collection provided a glimpse into the diversity of insects, including flea specimens. The film program featured a century of flea-related films, shorts, and documentaries that explored the cultural and scientific significance of fleas, as well as their role in transmitting diseases such as the bubonic plague. The festival also included a virtual art contest featuring insect-themed artwork created by local K-12 students. This event marked a unique shift to an online format that offered an engaging mix of education, entertainment, and interactive experiences.

=== 37th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival (2020) ===
The 37th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival (IFFF) took place on Saturday, February 22, 2020, just before the COVID-19 lockdowns began in the U.S. in March 2020. This year's theme was "Crustacean Fear Films," highlighting the diverse group of arthropods, including crabs, lobsters, shrimp, and many others, with over 42,000 species in total. 
The festival featured three crustacean-themed films, beginning with a kid-friendly short anthology showcasing crustaceans in TV and film. The first feature film, Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957), follows scientists trapped on a shrinking island, where they face giant, intelligent, and murderous crabs. The second film, The Bay (2012), is presented in "found footage" style and depicts an ecological disaster in a small Maryland town, caused by the deadly tongue-eating fish louse.

=== 36th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival (2019) ===
This year's featured insect was the often-misunderstood termite, which, despite its reputation as a pest, is actually vital to the environment. Termites play a crucial role in breaking down dead wood, which helps recycle nutrients back into ecosystems. The festival also highlighted the positive impact termites can have on sustainability. For example, engineers have studied termite mounds, which naturally maintain a cool temperature, and used this knowledge to develop energy-efficient cooling systems for buildings. This innovative "bio-inspired" approach shows how termites contribute not only to nature but also to sustainable human technologies. The films featured at the 2019 Insect Fear Film Festival included Alien Apocalypse (2005), a sci-fi thriller where giant termites are the alien invaders threatening to strip the Earth of its wood resources. This film, starring Bruce Campbell, was the main feature of the evening, aligning with the festival's focus on termites. In addition, there were short films shown before the main feature, including Woody the Woodpecker cartoons. These were chosen because woodpeckers often feed on wood-boring insects, such as termites, creating a fun and educational lead-up to the festival's focus on the featured insect.

=== 35th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival (2018) ===
The 35th annual Insect Fear Film Festival was held on February 24, 2018. This year's event focused on ticks, chosen for their portrayal as terrifying antagonists in film, thanks to their blood-feeding nature and their ability to spread diseases like Lyme disease. The festival showcased several films, including The Big Tick (2006), an episode of Ben 10 featuring a giant, tick-like alien, Bite of the Ruby Red (1955), an episode of Soldiers of Fortune about a scientist searching for a cure to a tick-borne fever. The main feature was Ticks (1993), a horror film in which mutated, oversized ticks terrorize a group of teenagers on a wilderness retreat.

=== 34th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival (2017) ===
The theme of the 2017 IFFF was "Illinois Alumnus Paul Hertzberg Insect Fear Films," spotlighting films produced by Paul Hertzberg, a U of I graduate from 1971. Hertzberg has produced over 150 films, including 2 Lava 2 Lantula (2016) and Caved In (2006), which were featured in the festival. In addition to the screenings, Hertzberg also gave a talk during the event.