How far can and should activism go?
In 2018, climate activists* put their heart and soul into occupying the Hambach Forest, which quickly became a symbol of resistance against politics and business. When the police cleared the forest, a young film student had a fatal accident: Steffen Meyn. With journalistic intention he had accompanied the protest action together with a 360° camera - in solidarity, but by no means uncritically! This extraordinary documentary film is composed of the footage he left behind. It provides never-before-seen images and direct insights into a protest movement struggling to find its stance and appropriate means. How far can and may activism go? "Lonely Oaks" asks this very question, which is more burning than ever in the face of blocked roads and raids!
Why do people endanger their lives for political purposes? And where does utopia meet painful reality? Driven by a fascination for activism and the belief in a better community, the young film student Steffen Meyn goes to Hambacher Forst in 2018. There, activists oppose the clearing of the forest by the RWE corporation. He quickly finds a connection in their tree houses through his open, cordial manner. He accompanies the protest action as a journalist with his 360° camera and films the eviction attempts of the police live from the treetops. Until it comes to a tragic end: he falls into the depths and dies on the spot. His friends created this documentary from the footage Steffen left behind, which is an impressive study of activism in which the use of one's own body appears to be a last resort.
Festivals / film awards
- 2024: Deutscher Filmpreis
- 2023: Berlinale, DE, Perspektive deutsches Kino
- 2023: Festival del Cinema dei Diritti Umani di Napoli, IT, Human Rights Doc
- 2023: Filmfest Lünen, DE
- 2023: Filmkunstfest MV, DE, Competition Documentary Film, Main Award, Best Cinematography for Steffen Meyn (posthum)
- 2023: films for future, CH
- 2023: Internationales Filmfest Emden-Norderney, DE, Focus Future Award
- 2023: Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival
- 2023: Neisse Filmfestival, DE, Competition Documentary Film
- 2023: NIHRFF - Nuremberg International Human Rights Film Festival
- 2023: RIFE - Rhodope International Documentary Film Fest, BG, Feature, Exceptional Gaze, Special Mention
- 2023: Sheffield Doc Fest, GB, International First Feature Competition
- 2023: This human world - International Human Rights Film Festival, AT
- 2023: WATCH DOCS, PL
Production funding
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