Isabella Rossellini's guide to the sex life of the anchovy (and the duck, the snail, the dolphin…). In a series of short films, she acts as a range of animals having sex. She just wants to amuse us, she says – and teach us some hard science about the birds and the bees.

Seven of her films are on show at the Natural History Museum, as part of a major exhibition called Sexual Nature (which I really want to see). The museum decided to host the films because, amusement value aside, they are scientifically accurate: snails jab each other with painful darts before sex and female ducks have versatile vaginas. "The films turned out to be a wonderful experiment," says Rossellini. "We certainly didn't expect them to end up at the Natural History Museum in London."

As the museum boasts: "You'll be amazed at what nature gets up to."

Watch them in full here on the Sundance Festival's website, and read this interview from The Guardian, but 'til then, here's something to whet your appetite:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTpiw5tiwm0]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKkgUxJxU5M]