During the late ’90s,
dozens of activists camped out in the treetops of Northern
California’s Headwaters Forest, protesting clear-cutting by Pacific
Lumber. Their months – and even years – above the ground didn’t
save the entire forest, but they managed to protect a few of the
oldest groves. The tree-sits also drew intense media attention and
made Julia Butterfly Hill a celebrity (HCN, 3/15/99: Julia
Butterfly won’t come down).
Tree-Sit:
the Art of Resistance, a new film produced and directed
by James Ficklin and Penny Andrews, documents those protests. Much
of the film was shot with a handheld camera from the activists’
perspective, looking down at loggers as they chainsaw surrounding
trees. At one point, a dreadlocked protester is nearly decapitated
when the base of a falling tree misses his head by inches. Later,
we watch from the treetops as a logger climbs up and dismantles a
platform in a nearby
redwood.
Tree-Sit doesn’t
pretend to be objective and unbiased, but it does show loggers and
activists in conversations that bring out the sympathetic sides of
both groups. The film presents an intriguing view of an activist
subculture and documents the coalition-building between labor and
green interests.
The Headwaters Action Video
Collective is currently showing Tree-Sit on
college campuses and will eventually make the film available on
video. More information can be found at www.treesit.org or contact
HAVC, P.O. Box 2198, Redway, CA 95560 (707/925-0012).
Copyright © 2002
HCN and Mason Adams
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Protests from the (tree)top down.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
