Movie: Queen of the Sun highlights honeybee crisis

'Queen of the Sun' to pollinate awareness of bee crisis in Ithaca
Documentary finds hope in 'What the Bees are Telling Us'

Excerpts from a Press Release:

ITHACA, N.Y., – ‘The documentary ‘Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us?’ will open April 22 at Cornell Cinemas in Ithaca.

Bees have provided humans with honey, wax and pollination for our food for over 10,000 years. Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian scientist who, in 1923, predicted that within 100 years, “The mechanization of beekeeping and industrialization will eventually destroy beekeeping.”

The movie 'Queen of The Sun' takes a journey around the world to uncover the compelling perspectives concerning the complex problems bees are facing such as malnutrition, pesticides, genetically modified crops, migratory beekeeping, parasites, pathogens, and lack of genetic diversity from excessive queen breeding. The film finds practical solutions and discovers the deep link between bees survival and our own.

The documentary is an in-depth investigation to discover the causes and solutions behind Colony Collapse Disorder, a phenomenon where honeybees vanish from their hives, and never return. Queen of The Sun follows the voices and visions of beekeepers, philosophers, and scientists from around the world, struggling for the survival of the bees. Queen of The Sun emphasizes the biodynamic and organic communities that have deep and profound insights into the long-term issues that have brought about the recent collapse.

Beekeeper Gunther Hauk calls the crisis, “More important even than global warming. We could call it Colony Collapse of the human being too.”

Recently, the U.N. released a scientific study confirming that bee decline is a global issue. "Of the 100 crop species that provide 90 percent of the world's food, over 70 are pollinated by bees." The head of the U.N. Environmental Programme warns. "The writing is on the wall. We have to do something to ensure pollination for future generations."

Bees are the engines that keep the earth in bloom. Queen of The Sun presents the bee crisis as a global wake-up call and illuminates a growing movement of beekeepers, community activists and scientists who are committed to renewing a culture in balance with nature.

The movie will play at Willard Straight Hall at Cornell Cinema on:
Friday, April 22, 7:15, with introduction by Prof. Bryan Danforth (Entomology)
Saturday, April 23, 7:15
Tuesday, April 26, 7:15