A Film on Relationship with the Forest

Documentary 44 minutes

Is it really “green” and “environmentally smart” to use clearcutting methods in forestry? Or is it an outdated, inefficient and heavily carbon-emitting practice that does not belong in a world already struggling with forest fires and a climate crisis? A film on eco forestry and about ecological alternatives to clearcutting.

The Story

In spite of the Swedish forestry industry’s advertising campaign that attempts to cast them in the role of “green heroes”, the sadness in this film director’s soul at the sight of a clear cut area is both palpable and bewildering. Is it really possible to chop down an entire woods and still use labels such as “environmental care”?

In this film you’ll hear our tale from the woods, where different people talk about and show us what their relationship with the forest is. There’s the hands-on practical advice for ecological alternatives to clearcutting, there’s the scientific evidence of what clearcutting does, there’s a politician using spoken word to convey her message and there’s nature footage from a man who lives large parts of the year in the woods, and that always keeps his camera near.

The starting point is the gut feeling from the filmmaker that clearcutting simply feels wrong. The ending is a beginning; an invitation into seeing the forest as a collaborating partner rather than this “thing” for humans to exploit.

How would our view of the forest change if we stopped seeing her merely as an economic resource, and instead as an invitation to an ecological partnership?

Cast: Maria “Vildhjärta” Westerberg (artist, poet), Rebecka Le Moine (biologist/politician), Anders Lindroth (researcher), Mikael Karlsson (ecoforestry spokesperson), Andris Fågelviskare (tracker, nature guide) and Ben Bushill (carpenter, poet).

Directed and produced by Mattias Olsson for Campfire Stories. Musical score composed by Mischa Grind. Audio design by Jonas Källstrand. Audio mix by Boris Laible. Co-producer: John Nyberg.

Follow this link for a trailer: https://vimeo.com/402533834

Links

Watch a clip of the director Mattias Olsson on how this film came about.
Here’s a video presentation of the cast members.
Mikael Karlsson from the film runs the project Ecoforestry Foundation.
Mischa Grind created the music for the film. More on the music of his band Kolonien here.
Jonas Källstrand did the audio design for the film but he’s also a musician. Listen to his music here.
Boris Laible did the audio mixing for the film. More on his work here.
Maria Vildhjärta is a “twig artist” and poet. More on her work here.
Ben Bushill is a carpenter and poet. He was the subject of another Campfire Stories film which you can watch here.
Andris Birdwhisperer, who’s part of the cast of this film, can imitate over 100 different species of birds. He’s featured in one of the chapters of the Campfire Stories film Morphic Resonance.

Last but not Least

Read our blog post on why clearcutting is dead. In that post you’ll also find links for two other films on forestry that we highly recommend: “More of Everything” and “Om Skogen” (About the Forest).
Also, here’s a clip where we poke fun at the Swedish forestry industry’s advertising campaigns by giving them some creative subtitles. (No lawsuit as of yet!)