ANATOLIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
My Honeysuckle Beekeeper
by Vince Breheny & Denisa Formánková
REVIEW
" A documentary film is a great way of helping people understand because, somehow, when one is able to see the people involved, it lends a certain immediacy and understanding that is hard to get on the page."
Lawrence Wright
Owing to the great advancements in camera technology, mobile phones have now turned into tools that can record almost with superior features. This situation can provide advantages for those who have budget issues but want to shoot documentaries. They can shoot a documentary on the topic or phenomenon they want to address, participate in some festivals, and even present it to the attention and appreciation of people by posting it on social media. If they can find a subject worth investing in, they can draw the attention of major broadcast companies, and it can be easier for them to find support for their projects. Accordingly, many talented people who do not gravitate toward documentary filmmaking or who cannot realize the project in their minds and give up fearing that they will not be able to find support can continue to find opportunities to accomplish their dreams. Bright inspirations transform into art with the right resources.
Vince Breheny and Denisa Formánková tried to do this with their short documentary film. My Honeysuckle Beekeeper is not an inclusive documentary about bee colonies or beekeeping. We do not see an academic approach or a suitable plotline in the documentary. The documentary does not have such a claim in terms of neither its duration nor people involved in the documentary. However, it contains enough information to give an idea about beekeeping and honey production. This production mainly aims to show people that they can produce something with the modest means they possess and present it as documentation of a product, a service, or a phenomenon. We see that they successfully managed the shooting despite using a phone camera.
The aim of this production is not only to encourage people about technical means but also to show that a profession such as beekeeping, generally performed by men, can also suit a young woman, and although bees are aggressive and sometimes dangerous insects, women can also become beekeepers. In this respect, we watch a documentary that inspires young people.
Although he has nothing to do with the plot, a poet is involved in the documentary, and we reach the end with the poem he wrote to Formánková, which feels a little strange at first glance. However, upon thinking, the poem does not appear as an inappropriate addition since the fact that Denisa Formánková is the woman who performs beekeeping and produces honey and shows how she achieves this in practice and that Denisa is also a beautiful and sweet woman intersects somewhere with the inspiration that the documentary is mainly after.
Finally, voices were recorded with special equipment, not with a phone. Therefore, the dialogues and the poetry performance sound smooth and natural without losing the timbre of the human voice.
AIFF