Program
69. DOK Leipzig
HOLY WOOD DUST
GERMAN PREMIERE
“Trees are life itself,” says the renowned botanist Stefano Mancuso as he leads a group of children through an area that was once densely forested. This provides the framework for Victor Kossakovsky and Mancuso’s extensive cinematic journey through Europe and even to Vatican City, tracing the fate of trees. In the Dolomites, trees stand like ghosts after Storm Vaia devastated the forests. Monoculture plantations of economically valuable fir trees have made them more vulnerable. Further damage followed the storm, as the weakened and fallen trees became breeding grounds for bark beetles. What do trees think or feel? The camera delves into their depths, capturing life that is still sprouting and tenaciously persisting. Yet as winter sets in, trees may not survive the festive season. Chainsaws work tirelessly on conifer farms. Like strange cocoons, the trees are now wrapped in nets and bound into tight bundles, awaiting shipment to homes and public squares. But people’s affection may be short-lived. (Sevara Pan)
Italy, Spain, Germany 2026 by Victor Kossakovsky, 102 min, documentary film
