Albertan apiarist Eliese Watson shares her beekeeping philosophy and provides us with an introspective look into why people connect with these tiny creatures we call bees.

Creative team

Director: James Frislev
Producer: Hali Belanger

Filmmaker’s statement

Eliese Watson has an undeniable Albertan charm. Through her educational work as founder of ABC Bees and as a respected apiarist, Eliese is an approachable and relatable subject.

I was so captivated by her philosophy of beekeeping and her outlook on life that I was faced with a real challenge of selecting what would appear on screen. With Eliese we had a surplus of knowledge and a very limited amount of time to show it, both a blessing and a curse. We were very fortunate to feature her thought-provoking dialogue in a short amount of time.

Keeper of Bees takes the viewer on a show-and-tell excursion into a day-in-the-life of an apiarist. We learn that being an apiarist is more than a career – for some, it’s a lifestyle. That is a huge part of what made this project such a joy for me, knowing I was going to learn so much making the film and just being so thankful to share what I learned with the community.

About James Frislev

James Frislev is a 23-year-old filmmaker born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. Pulling from a background in marketing and visual arts, James is a driven, creative personality with a love for earth’s wonders.

James has worked on such notable productions as Hell on Wheels, Mutant World, Van Helsing (the series) and The Order in a visual effects capacity. Keeper of Bees is James’ first foray into documentary directing; he will be a graduate of SAIT’s film and video production program this spring.