MDFF 2021 - Cry of the Forests - A Western Australian Story
Cry of the Forests looks at the plight of Western Australia’s unique forests and their value in drawing down and storing carbon.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Jane Hammond
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Cry of the Forests was made to highlight the wasteful logging and mining in the only karri and jarrah forests on the planet. It aims to build awareness and inspire action to protect what is left of WA's precious forests for climate and biodiversity.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
This film highlights the little known extent of the wasteful practice of logging our native forests and highlights the real value of forests to climate. It is a must see. It is a beautiful cinematic journey with community power and hope at its core.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The universal theme of the need to act in a time of climate emergency to end the wasteful practice of logging in native forests. We need our forests for climate and biodiversity. Ending deforestation is as important as ending fossil fuel use. Around the world we all need to act to protect what is in our own backyards and to join the fight to save life on earth.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The film has been released. It took a solid 12 months to bring it from concept to the first cinema screening.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Very positive. the film has been screened more than 40 times and is now available to screen in schools, together with a study guide available from ATOM and the Educational Shop online. It can be screened via the Cinema on demand platform Fan Force. Cry of the Forests has so far been selected to screen in more than 25 film festivals around the world. It has already picked up three awards for Best Documentary feature.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
The feedback has been amazing. It has meant that the past six months have been spent promoting the film, organising screenings, getting the education package developed and ready and doing interviews for film festivals around the world.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Cry of the Forests is a social impact documentary film. It is designed to build awareness about what is happening in our forests and how they have an important role to play in drawing down and storing carbon. The more people learn about the forests, their plight and their real value in a time of climate emergency the more likely we are to be able to protect them for climate and biodiversity and stop the wasteful practice of cutting our forests for woodchips, firewood and charcoal. Having the film promoted on We Are Moving Stories will help amplify the story and the film and hopefully the protection of our forests in WA and world wide.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We need the film to be screened across the nation. It is available on the cinema on demand platform Fan Force platform and on the Education Shop for schools and universities.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
The film has a comprehensive wrap-around social impact campaign aimed at ending native forest logging in WA and beyond and protecting forests for climate and biodiversity.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Why are we still cutting down our forests at an economic loss when we know they are vital for storing and drawing down carbon and we already have enough plantation timber to allow us to end this wasteful practice?
Would you like to add anything else?
Anyone can host a screening of Cry of the Forests simply by jumping online and submitting a form to Fan Force.
https://fan-force.com/films/cry-of-the-forests/
The film can also be rented for schools, organisations and universities via the Education Shop
https://theeducationshop.com.au/streaming-content/cry-of-the-forests-7-day-rental/
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
The director/ producer/ writer/ editor is currently working on another social impact documentary in the climate solutions space. Stay tuned.
Interview: July 2021
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. 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
Cry of the Forests - A Western Australian Story
Length: 54:00
Writer/Director/Producer
JANE HAMMOND is an independent documentary filmmaker and journalist. She specializes in stories of environmental justice, action on climate change, social affairs, science and politics. In 2012 she took redundancy from The West Australian newspaper and went back to university to learn the art of filmmaking. She completed a Masters of Professional Communications at Edith Cowan University in Perth doing her final units of study at the WA Screen Academy in 2016.
Key cast:
Kelton Pell - Narrator
Looking for:
buyers
Social media:
https://www.facebook.com/CryofTheForests
https://www.instagram.com/freofreelance/
Hashtags:
#CryoftheForests #Forests4Climate #Forests4Life
More info:
https://cryoftheforests.com.au