Other than a desire to expose what lies beneath the surface, the tiny-insect documentary Microcosmos and David Lynch's twisted suburban classic Blue Velvet may not seem to have much in common.
But starting May 5, the worlds of bug copulation and the memorable visage of Isabella Rossellini will come together for Green Porno, a online series of "third screen" short films commissioned by the Sundance Channel and directed by Rossellini and Jody Shapiro.
Sundance co-produced My Dad is 100 Years Old, Rossellini's debut short film (co-directed with Guy Maddin) about her Italian director father Roberto Rossellini, and later asked the actress if she'd like to make a series of shorts that address environmental issues—to "do something flashy." In each of the eight one-minute flicks, Rossellini stars as a bug (or arachnid)—dragonfly, firefly, spider, housefly, snail, bee, mantis, worm—that makes whoopie with a papier mache other.
Although the films are meant to be part of Sundance's green initiative, they're not preachy—they're hilarious! C'mon, it's Isabella Rossellini dressed up like a giant bug! She even gender-bends in some of them, getting her head eaten mid-coitus in the mantis clip. "I am a ham," Rossellini told the New York Times, "it makes people laugh when I play the male."
Rossellini, never one to shy away from the risque, tells the Sundance Channel's Faith Salie that "the way animals or bugs make love, it's very pornographic," so be forewarned: the following interview/preview clip may be NSFW (if you've got headphones on or turn the speakers down, it should be all right, though).
Related links:
Green Porno at SundanceChannel.com
Reuters: Isabella Rossellini interview
Spiegel: Birds Do It, Bees Do It
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