Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly
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BEAUTY ON THE WING: LIFE STORY OF THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY tells the story of the monarch butterfly as it unfolds along the shores in a northeastern corner of the United States, and in the heart of Mexico’s forested volcanic mountains. The monarch’s life story is one of nature’s most incredible examples of adaptation and survival. There are no other butterflies in the world that journey thousands of miles over such a great and vast area, ecologically linking Canada and Mexico, to nearly every region within the United States. Although the butterfly’s spectacular migration evolved over millennia, the last decades of human activity have put this phenomenon in grave danger, and now the monarch is in great peril.
Every stage of the butterfly’s life cycle is experienced in vibrant close-up, from egg to caterpillar to adult. Set against the background of sea and forest, sun and wind, these intrepid monarchs numbering in the millions journey thousands of miles. The most magical thing is that this migration takes place in backyards, farms, meadows, and along the shoreline, wherever milkweed and wildflowers grow. Filmed in Gloucester, Massachusetts and at the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserves at Estado de México and Michoacán, the film illuminates how two regions, separated by thousands of miles, are ecologically interconnected.
Awards:
2022 San Diego International Children's Film Festival, Best Documentary
2021 Providence Children’s Film Festival, Best Feature Film Award
2020 Nature Without Border's Film Festival, Outstanding Excellence Award
Produced by Kim Smith, Kim Smith Designs, 2020.
