Once Upon a Forest

With Once Upon a Forest, Luc Jacquet invites the spectator into a never-before-seen world of natural wonder and staggering beauty. “For the first time, we will be able to watch a rain forest growing before our eyes…Only cinema can offer this unique voyage into a completely untamed universe, a world of perfect balance in which each living thing – from the smallest to the largest – plays an essential role. The film will deliver a complete sensory immersion in the primaeval splendor of one of nature’s richest mysteries, inviting the audience to enter, discover and marvel at a universe of untold treasures while joining its voice to the ever-growing awareness of the need to preserve our world.”

The Last Season

In search of the lucrative matsutake mushroom, two former soldiers discover the means to gradually heal their wounds of war. Roger, a self-described 'fall-down drunk' and sniper in Vietnam, and Kouy, a Cambodian refugee who fought the Khmer Rouge, bonded in the bustling tent-city known as Mushroom Camp, which pops up each autumn in the Oregon woods. Their friendship became an adoptive family; according to a Cambodian custom, if you lose your family like Kouy, you must rebuilt it anew. Now, however, this new family could be lost. Roger's health is declining and trauma flashbacks rack his mind; Kouy gently aids his family before the snow falls and the hunting season ends, signaling his time to leave.

Mes indésirables

"Before I left today, I almost forgot to answer a lot of e-mails."

Wild Feast

A wounded moose escapes its hunters, later dying deep in the forest and becoming... a communal feast. As the seasons go by, mammals, birds and insects invite themselves to the banquet - multiplying ensuing games, rituals and conflicts. In exploring and occasionally foiling nature's wildlife codes, our story becomes a simple yet poignant reflection on death, on its natural place in this world and, by extension, on its deeper meaning and purpose - important lessons to explore at this time when the glorious paradises offered by religions tend to feel less and less credible.

In Between Mountains and Oceans

Finding their place between the forest and the sea, the Japanese have always felt awe and gratitude toward Nature. Since ancient times, they have negotiated their own unique relationship with their natural surroundings. Acclaimed photographer Masa-aki Miyazawa discovered the essence of that ancient way of living in Ise Jingu, Japan’s holiest Shinto shrine. Inspired by the idea of sending a message to the future in the same way this ancient shrine keeps alive the traditions of the past, Miyazawa used an ultra-high resolution 4K camera to create a breathtaking visual journey linking the Ise forest with other forests throughout Japan.

A Global Warning?

Global warming in context. What the climate of the past tells us about the climate of the future.

Valldaura: A Quarantine Cabin

A group of young architects, confined to a forest in Barcelona during the COVID crisis, explore the problems generated by the ambition of wanting to be completely self-sufficient.

Beary Tales

Two orphaned bear cubs would’ve been destined to starve – if a man had not adopted them. The film shows the twins’ life with their new "mother", from their first steps to becoming cheeky teenagers.

WICCA

I was scrounging around the neighborhood for inspiration. Within a block from my apartment, I found a wild mushroom in the grass, and an advertisement for a psychic named Sara.

Grandma's Eternal Forest

A 49 minutes documentary on the footsteps of 87 years old "Grandma" Kuniko Shiiba, perpetuating a 4000 years traditional and sustainable form of agriculture. Shohei SHIBATA followed her a whole year through the forest and its medicinal plants, fire spirits and mountains.

Darkwoods: Where Nature Survives

The film takes us into the nearly impassable Darkwoods in Canada, with its ecosystems of old growth valleys and alpine meadows. It's a wonderful part of British Columbia with unique flora and fauna. These remote mountain ranges are home to rare mountain caribou, endangered bats, grizzly bears, wolves, and unique birds.

Timber Front

This black-and-white archival film outlines the importance of Canada's forests in the national war effort during the Second World War.

Trognes, les arbres aux mille visages

Sherwood Park

Reclaiming what was once stolen from him, a man journeys back to the place of his childhood nearly 80 years after his world came crashing down.

Forests

In a dark, ambiguous environment, minuscule particles drift slowly before the lens. The image focuses to reveal spruce trees and tall pines, while Innu voices tell us the story of this territory, this flooded forest. Muffled percussive sounds gradually become louder, suggesting the presence of a hydroelectric dam. The submerged trees gradually transform into firebrands as whispers bring back the stories of this forest.

Over het Wildrooster

In Over the Cattle Grid you follow to Robert, Rinke and Ytzen, who spend every day in the woods between the villages of Odoorn and Exloo. Ytzen and Rinke because they live in the middle of the woods, Robert because he cycles through the woods every day to get to work. Behind the grid time seems to pass in a different way. Or as Ytzen says "there is no time, there is just being". They also see things they have never seen before, such as trees that lose their leaves in September and plants that want to start growing in the middle of winter. You will also see Wietse de Haan and Evert Prummel, they build instruments from dead trees. All the music you hear in the film was played on these tree instruments and recorded in the forest. Okki herself also occasionally passes by. She has been coming to this piece of forest all her life, which is a kilometer from the house where she grew up. Not only has she known the forest, but also Robert, Ytzen and Rinke for most of her life.