We in B.C. are stewards to a natural life-giving and supporting forest ecology.
On Wednesday, April 11, Awareness Film Night will be presenting Richard Boyce’s recently released film Rainforest: The Limit of Splendour. This film is a moving exploration of the incredible natural ecosystem we have in our forests on Vancouver Island. It was described by the 2011 Whistler Film Festival, where it won a film award, as “re-exposing our most critical environmental issue while at the same time pushing the cinematic experience and limits of storytelling, cinematography and editing.”
Inspired by Kwakwaka’waku chief Kwaxsistalla, this powerful and poetic documentary provides an intimate glimpse into First Nations traditional relationship with the forest juxtaposed with Boyce’s very personal perspective on the decades long fight to save Vancouver Island’s 1,000-year-old trees from clear-cutting practices.
Boyce takes his camera high up into the forest canopy, providing us with a unique cinematic experience of the rich forest ecosystem.
Our forests deserve to be held in regard as the generous and wide-ranging providers that they are, for they filter our air, hold our water and store greenhouse gases as well as providing a home to a vast array of flora and fauna that would otherwise become endangered. Even as we use trees for lumber, according to a recently released auditor general’s report, we are not managing that resource well. Sawmills are without logs while laden logging trucks speed by, and we are using up our forest reserves at an alarming rate.
Rainforest: The Limit of Splendour will inspire you to want to save our magnificent old-growth forests. To give us ideas on how we might take meaningful action, the screening will be followed by a discussion with TJ Watt. TJ is a local conservation photographer and avid big tree hunter from Metchosin. Two years ago he and long time activist Ken Wu co-founded the Ancient Forest Alliance, an organization that works to protect B.C.’s endangered old growth forests and forestry jobs. The group recently celebrated their first campaign victory with the protection of Avatar Grove near Port Renfrew.
Showtime is at 7 p.m. at the Edward Milne Community School theatre. Admission is by donation. Proceeds to the Ancient Forest Alliance.