Melissa Lohman Wild '88

Rooftop Bees

Screening: Saturday, 4:25 p.m. and Sunday, 1:45 p.m.

Amidst the buzz of New York City, it’s pretty easy to feel disconnected from nature. Melissa wanted to make a film about the possibility of connection to the natural world within an urban environment. Through his collaboration with thousands of honeybees who forage for nectar from local trees and flowers, John the beekeeper pays attention to nature’s cycles right here in Brooklyn.

Filmmaker Bio:

Melissa Lohman Wild '88 first picked up a video camera as a teenager at a community access station in her hometown of Somerville, Massachusetts and she has been involved in image-making ever since. She studied media theory and production at Hampshire College, where she produced her thesis documentary, Look This Way, and received a B.A. in 1992. After college she worked for several years in independent film production in New York City, working in the art department on such films as Steve Buscemi’s Tree’s Lounge, Jim McKay’s Girlstown, and Hal Hartley’s Henry Fool. In 2000 Melissa began teaching documentary video production to New York City public high school students while enrolled in the Media Studies graduate program at New School University, where she produced her graduate thesis film, Grandpa’s Apartment and received an M.A. in 2002. Melissa continues to make short films and to teach youth media through Downtown Community Television Center. While filmmaking is her vocation, Melissa is happiest when she is cutting up pieces of paper and gluing them together. Her crafty interests include collage, mail art, and screen-printing. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, son, and cat, and eagerly awaits the birth of her second child any day now.