TREE-SIT to be the highlight of the Solstice Documentary Film Festival

by Kim Beavers Dec. 19th 2001

Reprinted from the The Independent - The weekly news of Southern Humboldt

One of the major highlights of the Solstice Documentary Film Festival will be "Tree-sit: The Art of Resistance," and it may be of particular interest to many Southern Humboldt environmental activists. The film is stunning in its cinematic effects: flash shots of dead tree stumps and slow, vertical scans of remaining tall redwoods. Photojournalists James Ficklin and Penny Andrews have dramatically captured the poignant journey of the fight to save the trees and the land surrounding them, pointing out that "less than 4 percent of this ancient forest remains." "Tree-sit" is comprehensive and detailed; rarely-seen interviews with early activists and Andrews' eloquent narration provide a rich history lesson for those unfamiliar with the conflicts involving the logging industry and those who seek to protect the environment. Noting that Humboldt County is home to "the oldest temperate rainforest in the world," the film addresses ecosystem issues as well, warning that the destruction of ancient redwoods has far-reaching ramifications, such as the possible extinction of some animal species (including the coho salmon). It's difficult not to be touched by the beautiful nature images of salmon, elk herds and bears, and even more difficult to imagine our world without them.

The film goes all the way back to the mid-1800's, recounting the genocide of Native American tribes by white settlers. It then travels through time to the past 20 years, introducing Judi Bari, a labor organizer and member of Earth First!, a protest organization based on "biocentrism," which holds that all living things have a right to exist in our world. As many viewers will recollect, in 1990 a bomb exploded in Bari's car, and immediately the FBI and the Oakland police named her and fellow Earth First! activist Darryl Cherney as suspects in the bombing. Bari died of breast cancer in 1997, but a lawsuit against the FBI continues in her name.

Other highlights of the film include Headwaters protests in the mid-1990's, some of which captured national attention when singer Bonnie Raitt was among those arrested, and film footage of early tree-sits and profanity-filled confrontations between environmentalists and loggers. One of the more heart-wrenching segments is about David "Gypsy" Chain, a young activist who was killed by a falling tree after an anger-filled confrontation with a logger.

The film touches on the politics of Charles Hurwitz, who bought the family-owned Pacific Lumber Company and created Maxxam Corporation as a holding company in 1996. Hurwitz has been quoted as saying that "clear-cutting is good for the land," though, the film says, this clearcutting logging practice was found to be a factor in the Stafford mudslides in the late 1990s that destroyed residents' homes. "Tree-sit" includes somber images of falling trees and activists illegally camping on timberlands to stop logging. It captures the essence of lesser-known actions as well as one of the most famous: the Julia "Butterfly" Hill treesit that lasted for two years in the ancient redwood Luna. Singers Bonnie Raitt and Joan Baez are included in a rare film interview atop Luna with Hill. Actor Woody Harrelson is shown during a Golden Gate Bridge protest against irresponsible logging. Former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart leads other protesters in a drumming sequence in a separate action.

With a two-hour running time, "TREESIT" can be a bit overwhelming. Nevertheless, it is a must-see for anyone with an interest in the political controversies surrounding corporate economics and the environment.