Themes such as sustainability, climate change and social issues are at the heart of many of the stories presented at the 74th Trento Film Festival – the oldest International Mountain Film Festival in the world.
To support and encourage this approach, Trentino Film Commission and APPA (the Provincial Environmental Protection Agency) established the Green Film Award in 2021. The award honours the film that most effectively expresses values and practices related to environmental protection and sustainability, with particular attention to mountain environments and climate change.
For the jury, composed of Marco Niro and Lavinia Laiti (APPA Trento) and Linnea Merzagora (Trentino Film Commission), selecting a single winner is always a challenge, but for the 6th Green Film Award the jury had no doubts: the amazingly beautiful “Le chant des forêts” fully and unquestionably deserved the award, winning with the following motivation:
“A sensory journey made up of vivid sounds and sublime images. Through the bond between father, son and grandson, it tells the story of the forest that lives on in the heart of Europe. Moving beyond anthropocentrism, a message of hope emerges: everything is connected, and the wild endures despite the loss of biodiversity, offering beauty worth fighting for. A powerful poetic warning about impermanence: “We are merely passing through.”
Directed by Vincent Munier, “Le chant des forêts” takes us into the heart of the Vosges forests.
Here, the director learned everything from his father Michel, a naturalist who spent his life patiently observing wildlife in the woods. Now the time has come to pass this knowledge on to Simon, Vincent’s son.
Three perspectives, three generations, and a single shared fascination with the wild. Together, they observe deer, rare birds, foxes and lynx…and, at times, the beating wings of a legendary creature: the capercaillie.
The film won the César du Cinéma and will be released in theaters—don’t miss the chance to experience this journey on the big screen.