Silvicola

After working as a tree planter for ten years, Jean-Philippe Marquis decided to make a film about the intersection of forests, man and industry in his BC-shot feature debut. All the film’s interview subjects work in forestry, as loggers, sawyers, or planters (Marquis also brings in Indigenous views on stewardship of remaining Old Growth). Although they have varying degrees of respect for the trees (“Eventually everything in the forest will have a price tag on it,” says one), they all share the knowledge that they are cutting the ground out from underneath their own way of life. But this is much more than just a series of talking heads: Marquis immerses us in the forest to create something atmospheric and alive. There are no easy answers, but there is a long view in which, yes, you can see the woods for the trees, and in reminding us of this home truth Marquis has made one of the definitive BC movies of recent times.

Apr 22, 4:00 pm screening: Q&A with filmmaker Jean-Philippe Marquis & David Quigg (Sierra Club BC); moderated by Priyanka Dasai

Apr 22, 8:45 pm screening: Q&A with filmmaker Jean-Philippe Marquis

Apr 23: Q&A with filmmaker Jean-Philippe Marquis & Todd DeVries

Apr 25: Q&A with filmmaker Jean-Philippe Marquis, Todd DeVries & CPAWs representative

Director Bio
Jean-Philippe Marquis is a documentary filmmaker and director of photography based in Bella Coola, British Columbia. He has ten years of cinematography experience on documentaries and television series. As a director, his documentary work is often non-linear, and dwells on themes of contested geographies and resource extraction. He has made short films in Palestine, Congo-Kinshasa, and Cameroon, and has filmed extensively throughout Yukon and Western Canada.

At once stunning and sobering… An artfully engaged work […] that tackles the issues of deforestation through an unexpected lens… The growing desire to preserve the last of these elder giants is the beating heart of the film.

Madeline Lines, POV magazine

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