The makers of Microcosmos, who have been studying and documenting the insect world for 25 years, spent two years designing their closeup cameras and magnifying lenses, and the painstaking shoot took place over three years. Produced by Oceans co-director Jacques Perrin, the film chronicles one full day in a meadow in the French countryside. We are plunged into the universe of numerous insect species, who look like huge, bizarre extraterrestrials throughout, and single drops of water appear to be gigantic UFOs from outer space.

After a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly, a bee buzzes through the air like a fighter plane. Two snails engage in a long and very loving wet kiss, while a spider methodically captures a couple of grasshoppers, and a dung beetle tirelessly moves his treasure up a hill. The extraordinary closeups turn the creatures into larger-than-life characters with all kinds of personality and never a dull moment. Bruno Coulais’ score plays a major role, given the absence of dialogue in underlining the comic or dramatic subtexts in the scenes. The documentary won the Technical Grand Prize at the 49th Cannes Film Festival in 1996.

Claude Nuridsany and Marie Pérennou were both born in Paris and received master’s degrees in biology at the Pierre and Marie Curie University (Paris VI). They devised special camera equipment to disseminate images about nature in all its manifestations in a spirit to reconcile science with poetry, and aesthetic experimentation with scientific information. In 1976, they received the Niépce Prize for their photographic work. They collaborated closely as director, screenwriter, cinematographer, and producer for Microcosmos (1996), Genesis (2004), and The Field of Enchantment (2011). Microcosmos won nine awards, including the Technical Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.