According to statistics, almost a third of France is covered in forests. But can you call a forest a forest anymore, if it is dedicated to a single kind of tree and not even birds care to be there? Reaching for financial profit has brought monotone plantations to France, where you grow trees like you would grow grain – when the trunks have reached their target size, they are cut down, the soil cultivated and new seedlings planted.
This investor-favoured model is not to everyone’s tastes because it depletes the soil and the animal population. Instead of native species of trees, the plantations favour North-American Douglas fir. The Time of Forests gives voice to those who favour mass production and to those who oppose it. Alongside experts, this documentary features different sides of the lumber industry from forest owners to lumberjacks and the representatives of sawmills. At the background, traditional mixed forests create a wild contrast to the deadly silent spruce forests.
This striking documentary raises the question of what the forests of the future will look like. What happens if the lust of money wins over other values?
Viivi Pietiläinen / Translation: Miia Mäkelä
Language: French
Subtitles: English
- Name in Original Language: Le Temps des Forêts
- Director: François-Xavier Drouet
- Country: France
- Year: 2018
- Length: 104
- Age limit: null
- Cinematography: Colin Lévêque, Georgi Lazarevski, Karine Aulnette, Nicolas Duchêne, François-Xavier Drouet
- Editing: Agnès Bruckert
- Music: Frédéric D. Oberland
- Production: L'atelier documentaire
Showtimes:
- Cinema Artis, hall 1 : Saturday, 02.02 - 13:30