Screening - begins at 7:00 $12 All ages Screening includes a brief introduction and a Q&A with filmmakers after the film.
Scarabic Serenades chronicles two artists’ collaboration inspired by the mating songs and dances of the Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle. Part documentary, part art film, this film braids together researchers from the Emlen Biology Lab at the University of Montana, music by composer Jessi Harvey, and dance by choreographer Julynn Wildman into a story as captivating as the beetle itself.
With their oversized, pitchforked horns and an enigmatic mating ritual that includes both battle and a courtship song/dance, the Japanese Rhino Beetle captures hearts and imaginations alike.
Scarabic Serenades is a tongue-in-cheek film featuring over 20 Montana artists and researchers exploring the quirks of and questions about these charismatic critters.
A brief artist Q&A will follow the premiere screening.
This project is made possible in part by The University of Montana Emlen Evolutionary Biology Lab, Open AIR, The University of Montana School of Music and Dance, the National Science Foundation and the Prop Foundation, the Awesome Foundation, and the Missoula Butterfly House & Insectarium.