System Change

Two thousand police officers against two hundred tree sitters in an ancient forest in the heart of Germany, which is set to be cleared for a highway. For forty years, the struggle against the construction of this highway has been ongoing at political and legal levels, but now the state, on behalf of the federal government, has decided to enforce it—against all resistance.

The drama surrounding the eviction of the Dannenröder Forest serves as the central thread of a film about the shattered hopes of the younger generation for a better future. It revolves around their growing anger at the political ignorance in the face of the greatest crisis humanity has ever faced, and the seemingly unbreakable power of capital interests over the stated intentions to build a sustainable future. Yet the resistance continues against environmental destruction, a fossil fuel industry, and the further exploitation of the planet. The activists declare: “They try to bury us, but they forget that we are seeds. We will always come back.”

"Failing to raise the alarm now would be simply irresponsible." — Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, climate researcher.