2025 | 7-26th of October
Finland I 2024 I 93 min. I PG-13
Once Upon a Time in a Forest is a cinematic ode to a group of young radicals striving to defend Finland’s forests. In doing so, Ida, Minka, Otto and their activist friends come up against the vested interests of the forestry industry and political system, and a deeply rooted ideology of the forest as a major foundation of Finland’s economic prosperity. Even though they are involved in consultation processes (unlike in many other European countries), these do not bear fruit, and they decide to take direct action.
The film ultimately bears powerful witness to how change is inevitably coming, and how the outcome of this story – happily ever after or ecological disaster – rests largely on the shoulders of young activists.
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