Grove Of Giants

GROVE OF GIANTS - Documentary

Director: BREE SANDERS

In the Huon Valley, sits a Grove of Giants - the largest stand of old growth blue gum's in the world. These towering ancient trees are at once stunning, dramatic and scheduled to be destroyed. Can a passionate team of climbers and scientists prove it’s worth as a powerful carbon sink before time runs out?

Director statement:

I first met Jen & Steve working on a film set in early 2022. I was genuinely amazed by their climbing skills and the way they could ascend so high in some of Tassie’s giant trees. We had many conversations over those days in the forest. I heard about their organisation, The Tree Projects and how they had their own unique way of trying to protect forests in Tasmania through community engagement, science and photography.

There is a long history of conflict between loggers and communities wanting to protect forests in Tasmania. In a way, Jen & Steve are operating on the fringes of that battle, personally meeting with politicians, logging agencies and subtly chipping away… On that note, according to Jen’s “Tasmania's Forest Carbon” released late 2022, most of the biomass removed from a forest when it is logged is turned into woodchip. And a staggering 60% of a forest’s biomass is waste and burnt on-site in scorching fires that destroy everything and release carbon directly into the atmosphere. When I heard these stats, I was absolutely horrified… I knew logging was a terrible thing, and that native forests needed to be protected for so many important reasons, but after reading Jen’s report, and learning how important native forests are in helping us mitigate climate change, I was inspired to call Jen and Steve and ask if I could film them.

I very much enjoy observational documentaries. I don’t particularly like setting up scenes, I want the action to happen, and to be amongst it, capturing it as it unfolds. When Jen & Steve mentioned they’d organised a large group of volunteer climbers to help undertake a carbon study of logging coupe DN7B, or as they call it, ‘The Huon Valley Grove of Giants,’ I knew it’d be the perfect opportunity to depict the incredible scale of this forest and the length people go to in the hope of protecting it. The Grove of Giants is still scheduled to be logged in 2023, hence I felt the urgency of needing to document the carbon survey and share this story. I spent 5 days camping onsite with the tree crew, camera in hand, and accepted the fact that I’d spend the next few months in post trying to form the story.

One of the biggest challenges when creating this film was attempting to be restrained in sharing the stats that hooked me into making this film. The whole process has been a very steep learning curve and I’ve had some incredible support and guidance along the way. Very close to picture lock, I heard Aman Mann speak at AIDC, and he said “make people feel something, don’t tell them.” That’s when it all finally clicked, and I realised Franziska, my EP, had been trying to tell me that for weeks.

I want this film to encourage the audience to seek out more information and visit these incredible trees. If these forests aren’t experienced in person or through film and photography, then they are just hidden within indifferent shapes drawn on logging maps and we are much less likely to want to save them.