Global Impact Film Festival - The Forest’s Edge
The Forest's Edge is an environmental documentary film directed by Luke Fisher; it focuses on a group of conservationists trying to protect the Las Piedras region of Peru and the complicated social and cultural issues involved with rain forest deforestation that they must confront.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Luke Fisher
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Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you! Environmental conservation is a passion of mine and I was fortunate enough to be selected to join a school-sponsored trip to travel to Peru and visit a conservation reserve in the Amazon rain forest. As I listened to the stories of the people involved in the conservation and local residents, I realized that the issue of conservation wasn’t as black and white as I originally thought. From a distance, it was very easy to decide who the heroes and villains were in deforestation and environmental degradation.
However, by spending time in the rain forest, I learned that conservation is unbelievably complicated because you have to balance the health of the environment, but also provide economic opportunities for people who are trying to support their families. I was also shocked by how resource extraction not only destroys the environment, but also brings along some very unfortunate social issues like sex trafficking. I knew that all of those stories needed to be in a film and so The Forest’s Edge talks about these issues and more. It is less of an environmental science film and more of an environmental social film.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
If we want to preserve the rain forest then we need to understand all the intricate problems and issues that have thus far prevented us from doing that. And we can’t wait any longer. It needs to start happening now. This film is all about the social issues that deforestation brings and presents them in a way that I think is hard to ignore.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I feel as if the themes in The Forest’s Edge are all personal in nature, in that they are the thoughts, feelings, and recollections of people who are on the ground working to protect the rain forest. The stories and themes they represent are very personal to them, but express universal themes that many of us deal with and that all of us should be thinking about.
One of the most powerful interviews in the film is with a British Army Veteran who served in Afghanistan and came back with severe PTSD and Depression, but the rain forest gave him a new lease on life. His story of depression was very personal to him, but is also universal in that there are many who suffer with mental illness whether they served in the military or not and we need places like the rain forest as well as other natural beauties to help us cope with those issues.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
I love documentaries because before you begin shooting you plan and plan and plan. And that’s really important because you need to be prepared when you get to your story’s destination. But what I have found is, when you actually get there, the plan oftentimes goes out the window. I had so many different ideas before reaching Peru, one of which was to do a travel journal with myself as the main character, but once I got into the rain forest I kept meeting these interesting people who were doing these amazing things and I knew that they had to be the ones who told the story of the rain forest because they knew it better than I ever could. So you have to be able to adapt because the story you thought you were going to find is a lot of times less interesting than the story that finds you.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
It has all been very positive. I just screened at my first film festival, The Global Impact Film Festival, and that was a really exciting experience. I even took home an award for Best Visual Documentary. I think people are responding to this film because it looks at different angles of conservation and tries to show the real complexities that we are not often confronted with. I think it is giving people something to think about in a way they haven’t thought about it before.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I’ve been really inspired by the fact that a lot of people are taking it to heart and are trying to make different choices that are beneficial to our planet. A few weeks ago, a very nice lady who had seen the film told me that she had just made a donation to a rain forest conservation charity because of my film. I hope that more and more people who see it do little things and even big things if they can to protect the forest.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
If just one person reads this article and decides they want to see my film, and then in turn does something beneficial for the environment and the people who rely on it, then I would be very happy.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I would love to talk to anybody who can help me grow my audience.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I think one of the most important ways to enact social change is by highlighting the world’s issues through art forms like poetry, novels, music, and films. I think that’s been very important throughout history and that is the type of filmmaker I want to be. I want to tell stories that serve a global good and inspire people to make a positive social change and I hope that The Forest’s Edge does just that.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How does the issue of deforestation unearth other social issues we are dealing with?
Would you like to add anything else?
If you would like to learn more about The Forest’s Edge, then please like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/theforestsedge/). Thank you so much for the opportunity to reach your audience. It’s really cool that your site is highlighting all of these films.
What are you developing or working on now?
I am working on a script right now and hopefully production on that film won’t be too far away. Once we get further into development, I would love to share more details with We Are Moving Stories.
Interview: August 2016
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We are moving stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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The Forest’s Edge
The Forest's Edge is an environmental documentary film directed by Luke Fisher; it focuses on a group of conservationists trying to protect the Las Piedras region of Peru and the complicated social and cultural issues involved with rain forest deforestation that they must confront.
Length: 25 minutes
Director: Luke Fisher
Producer: Luke Fisher
Writer: Luke Fisher
About the writer, director and producer: Luke Fisher is a Baltimore, Maryland based filmmaker and graduate of the McDaniel College Cinema program.
Key cast: Jason Scullion, Samantha Zwicker, Melanie Desch, Harry Turner, David Johnston, Tania Romero, Callo Cordero, Pilar Cordero, Julio Quispe Caceres
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): All
Funders: Independently Produced
Release date: May 2016
Where can I watch it in the next month?
I will be screening at the Utopia Film Festival in Greenbelt, Maryland October 21-23. For more screenings you can check out our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/theforestsedge/)