Press Release
Date: Feb 11, 2025
Contact: Joseph Spina or Ember Clodfelter
jmspina2@illinois.edu or enc3@illinois.edu
Website: https://publish.illinois.edu/uiuc-egsa/ifff/
Facebook: Insect Fear Film Festival
The 43rd Annual Insect Fear Film Festival (IFFF) will be held on Saturday, February 28th, 2026, at Foellinger Auditorium, on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Hosted by the Entomology Graduate Students Association in the Department of Entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, this year’s theme is Insect-Human Hybrids —movies featuring mutant human-insectoids. While there are thankfully no insect-human (or spider-human for that matter) hybrids in our world, they are a recurring theme in film, literature, and folklore. Depictions range from the human-spider trickster, Anansi, from Ghanan folklore all the way to the titular fly, Seth Brundle, from the 1986 David Croenenberg classic The Fly. Typically these depictions are of an unsettling nature, moreso than other human-animal hybrids, likely due to the innately inhuman nature of insects. Too many legs, large yet blank eyes, jointed exoskeletons, fast movements, there are countless aspects of insects that unnerve people. In that respect, it’s an excellent concept for the Insect Fear Film Festival; for over four decades, the festival has drawn people in with the concept of insects as frightening creatures but always with the goal of educating the public about these misunderstood and beneficial creatures.
This event is FREE and open to the public. Activities will begin at 5:00 pm CST, and film introductions will start at 8:00 pm. This year’s feature film will be Infestation (2009). A full schedule will be available on our website. This year’s festival will feature:
- An insect petting zoo, come and meet tarantulas, giant roaches, and more!!
- Bugscope (scanning electron microscope) to get up-close with our insect friends!
- Insect arts and crafts for the whole family
- A gallery of the winners of the annual IFFF art contest entries featuring insect-themed artwork by local K-12 students
- …and more!!!
We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, February 28th , 2026! For more information, please visit the IFFF website, our Facebook page, or contact Joseph Spina (jmspina2@illinois.edu) or Ember Clodfelter (enc3@illinois.edu).