Lonely Oaks: Cinema release 21. September
"A great film that could be screened for political education at any community college!"
Zeit Online
How far can and may activism go? "Lonely Oaks" opens in cinemas nationwide on September 21 and asks exactly this question, which is more burning than ever in the face of blocked roads and raids!
In 2018, climate activists* occupied the Hambach Forest with heart and soul, 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.
Steffen Meyn's death anniversary is September 19, 2023 for the 5th time.
"Lonely Oaks" celebrated its world premiere at this year's Berlinale in the Perspektive Deutsches Kino section.
Filmkunstfest MV 2023: Award for Best Documentary, Award for Best Picture Design for Steffen Meyn (posthumously).
Content
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.