Image - TFF 2022
is a documentary that'll be screening at the
Transitions Film Festival - Virtual which runs from
18 Feb to 13 Mar 2022. For your chance to
WIN a free pass to the Transitions Film Festival, visit the
WIN PAGE and enter code
WEN and, in the '
Answer' section,
write the name of the film you want to see!
Winners notified 28 Feb 2022.
Forest for the Trees goes on a journey with award-winning war photographer Rita Leistner who returns to her roots in the forestry industry in Canada to embed with a community of 100 tree planters who overcome gruelling conditions and emotional difficulties to bring back a forest. This is a never before seen immersion into the backbreaking labour of professional tree planting that is as rewarding as it is challenging, transforming the planet and lives along the way - one tree at a time.
Image © Leistner Pictures
This documentary seems to be in equal parts about the environment and the planters involved. Both have been uprooted, torn out of the ground and need rebuilding. This is an introduction to everyday life on the
cut-block and the strong and determined young souls who traipse through rough terrains and work endless hours to bring Canada's forests back to life. It takes a whole new breed of people with a different mindset to take on such isolating, hard work.
They speak a whole other language, and there's certainly a lot of tree jargon to learn and hope you don't mind an F word here and there. Before the hard work begins, they travel crazy, slippery, dangerous roads, just to get to the remote logged areas up in the mountains. Once there, they're camping on ground that could easily be accessed by cougars and bears and therefore more dangerous than it looks.
Image - TFF 2022
It's a job that definitely needs perseverance from subjects that have a lot of vulnerabilities about them. However, they keep coming back to tree planting year after year like a drug that allows them to heal and overcome emotional difficulties. During the planting, it's just a lonely journey, one tree at a time, but by the end of the day, the community and camaraderie amongst the group is palpable.
There are many stories around the campfire as they bring the rough terrains back to life. There's an air of sincerity, and we are all so lucky there are young people like this motley crew who reforest the planet year after year. The photography and cinematography take you right into the harsh beauty and expanse of the forest. Filmed over 4 years, 45 million trees were planted over 26,000 hectares of land; and that's the size of 18,000 football fields. Testament to the subjects doing their bit for the environment.
