|
|
| 
The Monk and the Honeybee
For Personal Use Only
Delightful portrait of beekeeper and breeder Brother Adam, father of the Buckfast bee.
90 minutes
Directed by David Taylor
Produced by York Films of England
in association with BBC Television and Yleisradio, Finland
|
This is a delightful biography of Brother Adam, a 90-year old Benedictine monk, who at the time was the world's greatest beemaster. He spent his lifetime trying to breed the perfect honeybee: a bee that was at once industrious, prolific, gentle, disease-resistant, and able to withstand cold winters. Brother Adam is considered the greatest monastic geneticist since Gregor Mendel.
From his cell in Buckfast Abbey, Devon, England, Brother Adam is seen directing an incredible global enterprise. He has scoured Europe, the Middle East and Africa in search of genetic material from which he has synthesized his world-famous Buckfast bee. The film culminates in an extraordinary expedition he makes to Mt. Kilimanjaro in Kenya to find another strain with good genetic potential.
This program was filmed in rural England, the German Alps, Sweden, and the mountains of Tanzania.
Grade Level: All Ages
US Release Date: 1989
Copyright Date: 1988
DVD ISBN: 1-59458-827-9
VHS ISBN: 1-56029-014-5
Reviews
"In the fascinating and very beautiful opening scene of Buckfast Abbey at dawan, the excellent quality of of this interesting and informative production is immediately evident." School Library Journal
|
| |
|
|
|
"One of those rare and classic television jewels."
Yorkshire Evening Post
Links
www.yorkfilms.com (The producer's web site)
Awards and Festivals
Bronze Apple, National Educational Film & Video Festival
Certificate of Recognition, Birmingham International Educational Film Festival
... more Reviews
"Riveting...An illuminating glimpse into two interlocking and highly-organised societies. The basic information on bee-civilisation was extraordinary enough...Overlaid on Bee City was Brother Adam's Benedicitine world, another closed but highly-motivated order where everyone knows their place." The Guardian
"A fascinating program." Booklist
"Using macrophotography, the filmmakers have depicted the inner workings of the hive and the bee breeder's laboratory...but the human aspects...draw the viewer to greater involvement." **** Video Rating Guide for Libraries
"One of those rare and classic television jewels...a heart-warming presentation of human nature at its most original--one to restore our faith in our own potential." Yorkshire Evening Post
|
