Planet in Focus

Planet in Focus: Freightened (2016, Denis Delestrac)

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One of the great things about documentaries is that they take you into places you would otherwise never go, and shed new light in places you never looked. Freightened is one of those documentaries. Directed by Denis Delestrac, it was a documentary I was immediately drawn to simply because it was about a topic I don’t know anything about – container ships.

A carefully paced film, Freightened mixes talking heads with good footage to illustrate the hidden world that is the shipping industry. From poor working conditions to loose regulations, the film brings to light a bevy of problems that this largely ignored (publicly speaking) industry faces. I found Freightened to be informative and interesting and that is a great sign of a good documentary.

Go check it out.

Planet in Focus Review: Bugs (2016, Andreas Johnsen)

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bugs

If the US Election doesn’t have you wondering about the fate of the world more these days, Planet in Focus is back for yet another round of all too real documentaries. In what is now it’s 17th year, Planet In Focus will take place over the next few days and the topics that surround this festival is growing increasingly relevant as our world starts to undergo increasingly drastic changes. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Bugs is one of the better documentaries I have seen in recent years.

Directed by Andreas Johnsen, Bugs follows around two chefs from the Nordic food lab as they embark on a world wide journey to taste and learn about all the edible bugs in the world. With the world population expected to reach very high numbers in the next few decades, there are strong indications that humans will increasingly rely on insects for their protein. ALthough a vast number of people in the world already partake in the consumption of these multi-legged wonders, us in the Western Hemisphere still look at these animals with unease.

This Western Hemisphere problem is what the two chefs try to solve as they travel across the globe and eat bugs and learn from different cultures – they travel to Africa, Japan, Asia and all sorts of places. Some of the insects they eat are ridiculous and you have to appreciate the eat everything attitude of the chefs. The film not only highlights the many different types of insects you can eat, but also the problems with this new industry which as you would guess, its primed for exploitation. It’s a very real documentary that focus on some very real problems the human race will be facing in the future, but done with a light heartedness that makes it enjoyable and entertaining.

The documentary screens tomorrow at Innis Hall, check it out

http://planetinfocus.org/events/bugs/