WOOD
A wake-up-call documentary about illegal logging and deforestation
→ A thriller paced documentary that immerses us into into the hell of profit-lust.
→ The discovery of a parallel trade in the hands of a little-known mafia.
→ A need for creating political and public awareness of the disastrous consequences of forest depletion as the state
of the planet's "green lung" has now assumed dramatic proportions.
PRODUCTION STATEMENT
Romania is a country with an exceptionally large and old forest stock. Within a few years, this irreplaceable resource was ruthlessly decimated without any political action being taken against it.
Romania is not an isolated case. However, the fact that the profiteers are often companies that have their headquarters within the EU exacerbates the situation. Motivated by their very different personal relationships to the topic of forests, we met with Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan, Ebba Sinzinger and Michaela Kirst, three filmmakers and producers from three countries came together to embark on an investigative adventure lasting several years with undercover activists.
WOOD, filmed partly with an open, partly with a hidden camera, shows the brutal business of illegal logging in snapshots and gives an idea of its worldwide dimension.
SYNOPSIS
Environmental spies infiltrate the global syndicate for illegal timber trading. With the aid of a hidden camera they document the chain of illegal activities, from harvesting of the wood to the marketing of "washed" products in our stores.
"Wood is a revealing thriller with an activist heart" (CPH:DOX)
| Directed by | Michaela Kirst, Monica Lãzurean-Gorgan & Ebba Sinzinger |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Wildart Film |
| Language | Romanian, English, German, Spanish, Russian |
| Location | Austria, Romania, Germany |
| Budget | TBC |
DIRECTORs
Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan was the delegate producer of Adina Pintili's Golden Bear Winner TOUCH ME NOT. With her newly established company Manifest Film, she produced ACASA, MY HOME, which won an award at Sundance 2020. She also successfully directed A MERE BREATH (2016), which won Best Documentary at LET'S CEE Film Fest and in Sarajevo.
Michaela Kirst worked for many years as a journalist in New York and has headed the Berlin office of Sagafilm since 2011. She realizes documentaries for TV and cinema as director and/or producer. Her films like DISGUSTINGLY HEALTHY, BROWN BABIES – GERMANY'S LOST CHILDREN or CRIME SCENE RAIN FOREST have won many awards.
Ebba Sinzinger is a producer, scriptwriter and director. Films she produced and coproduced like BROTHERS OF THE NIGHT and DOMAINE by Patric Chiha, THE FORGOTTEN SPACE by Noël Burch and Allan Secula or PIANOMANIA, have won awards in Berlin, Venice and Locarno. For her directorial work, she received the Upper Austrian Cultural Award for Film in 1997.
RELEASE
Spring 2023
