MicroKansas - #AniFab Review - Short Documentary

Filed By:
​Gabriel Ponniah, Editor In Chief
ATX Screen Scene

​It’s tempting, when thinking about the awesome force of nature, to look at the towering flora and fauna which humble and ground our place in the world, but such inspection can be equally rewarding in the opposite direction. As much as our world around us is filled with struggle and intrigue, so too are the worlds orders of magnitude smaller than our own. “MicroKansas — Tribulation” sets its sights on the fascinating goings on of the Great Plains ecosystem, focusing on the drama unfolding right outside your door.

The macro photography on display here is wonderful, offering unique views of insects, small reptiles and amphibians, and the like. But make no mistake—the crowning achievement of this film is the remarkable opera of the garter snake and its defiant meal of choice. Not unlike the famous chase sequence as an iguana attempts to outrun a nest of vipers in Blue Planet II, this showcase of a frog escaping what appears to be a slow and certain demise in the belly of this snake is riveting. It’s the kind of material that inspires a hearty fist-pump at the word “cut!”

The four-and-a-half minute short contains enough intrigue to hold the attention of an invested audience, and its presentation is remarkably professional given the apparent small scale of the production. It would no-doubt prove familiar to nature documentary veterans, who would almost certainly be interested in seeing the remainder of the piecem, for “MicroKansas — Tribulation” is only the first chapter in KU graduate Bobby Obermite’s larger vision for this project. Hopefully he can build upon this small, but not insignificant success in the future.