---
title: "Insect Fear Film Festival"
chunk: 5/7
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"
---

=== 27th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival (2010) ===
The 27th IFFF, held on February 27, 2010, centered on the theme of prehistoric insects. The event offered an intriguing look into the origins of today's insects, with highlights including fossils like Meganeura, a dragonfly-like creature with a wingspan of nearly 30 inches that lived around 300 million years ago, and trilobites—ancient arthropods that once inhabited the seas.
The evening featured animated shorts The Deadly Mantis (1957), where a giant mantis is freed by nuclear testing, and Monster on the Campus (1958), in which a dragonfly's blood contamination turns a scientist into a Neanderthal. The evening also featured screenings of Black Scorpion (1957), in which volcanic activity unleashes giant scorpions in Mexico, followed by Deep Freeze (2001, also known as Ice Crawlers), which depicts the reappearance of grad-student-eating trilobites in the Antarctic.

=== 26th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival (2009) ===
The 26th IFFF, themed "Centipede Cinema," took place on February 28, 2009. The event focused on myriapods (centipedes and millipedes), which, despite their many legs, are arthropods, not insects. Centipedes, known for their predatory habits, and millipedes, which feed on decaying matter, were featured for their unique characteristics. The festival also included live displays of giant centipedes and safe-to-handle giant millipedes in a petting zoo. The film screenings began with family-friendly Disney shorts from the 1930s, followed by the feature films Centipede! (2004), in which a group of cave explorers is menaced by giant centipedes, and Centipede Horror (1982), where a powerful sorcerer casts a deadly centipede spell on the grandchildren of the man who destroyed his village 50 years earlier.

=== 25th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival (2008) ===
The 25th IFFF, held on February 23, 2008, focused on "social insects" such as ants, bees, wasps, and termites. Social insects were highlighted for their remarkable behaviors, such as farming fungus, ranching aphids, and building towering termite mounds. The festival featured live displays of bee colonies, termite workers, and giant tropical ants, as well as screenings of the family-friendly films Bee Movie (2007) and Antz (1998). Simon J. Smith, the director of Bee Movie, was a special guest speaker this year.

=== 24th Annual Insect Fear Film Festival (2007) ===
The 24th IFFF, held on February 24, 2007, featured "Japanese insect-themed films" curated by entomologist May Berenbaum. Known for its unique relationship with insects, Japan views them through a cultural lens that is often less fear-driven than in the West. The festival showcased heroic insect characters like Mothra (1961), the giant silkworm, who defends humanity despite causing destruction due to her enormous size, comparable to that of a Boeing 747. Other films included The Ultimate Teacher (1988), featuring a half-human, half-cockroach character (茶羽顔八, X-8), and Blue Gender (2002), an anime about monstrous insect-like creatures. The event also featured exhibits, including a silkworm display in honor of Mothra.

=== 23rd Annual Insect Fear Film Festival (2006) ===
The 23rd IFFF, held on February 18, 2007, focused on "Mantis Movies." Despite Hollywood's exaggerations, such as the myth of sexual cannibalism, this year's festival aimed to correct misconceptions and showcase the true nature of these fascinating insects. Known for their predatory behavior and iconic "praying" posture, mantids have inspired both admiration and martial arts, including the creation of Tang Lang Ch'uan (Praying Mantis Kung Fu; 螳螂拳). The festival featured live mantid exhibits and a variety of films.
The festival featured several short films, including The Mantis Parable (2005), about a caterpillar and mantis; a Space Ghost Coast to Coast (1995) episode with Zorak, the alien mantis; and Mantis Stalks Its Prey (1995), a Chinese paper-cut animation about a mantid hunting its meal. In addition, the festival showcased The Deadly Mantis (1957), where a giant mantis is freed by nuclear testing and wreaks havoc in New York City, and "Teacher's Pet", an hour-long episode from the first season (1995) of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

=== 22nd Annual Insect Fear Film Festival (2005) ===
The 22nd IFFF, held on February 19, 2025, focused on "forensic entomology"—the use of insects to solve crimes. While the practice has been recognized for over 700 years, it has only recently become a formal field. This year special featured activities such as a "maggot petting zoo" and "games to guess the post-mortem interval".
The festival's films included two cartoons featuring crime-solving insect superheroes: Creepy Crawlers (1985) and The Tick vs. Arthur (1994). It also showcased two feature films: Phenomena (1985), where Jennifer Connelly played a student who communicated with insects to help solve murders, and Flicks (1987), which featured a segment with Philip Alien, Space Detective, an alien cockroach solving crimes.
The festival culminated in the presentation of the IFFF's first "Image Award", given to William Petersen for his portrayal of forensic entomologist Gil Grissom on CSI. In CSI, Grissom uses maggots and other insect clues to solve murders, showcasing his deep knowledge of insects, which resonates with real-life entomologists. The festival organizers, EGSA at UIUC and the Entomology Department, also received a thank-you letter from Petersen for being honored with the award.