The Walking Forest documentary tells the story of Bosk, an extraordinary land art project that brought over a thousand trees into the Dutch city of Leeuwarden (Friesland), forever changing the lives of its citizens.
English
AUDIO LANGUAGES
30 mins
RUNTIME
Rose Casella & Floris Leeuwenberg
A FILM BY
It's incredible to see how a city centre completely transforms through the simple act of adding trees. The impact of this astonishing land art project was that residents throughout the city got to experience a forest in front of their homes for a few days before it moved down the street to the next neighbourhood. Most people didn't complain when the trees arrived but did complain when they left.
The walking forest became a part of their daily lives, a place to meet others, walk, read a book, or play with their children. Surprisingly, people were more relaxed; it was quieter, and the air was cooler, attracting more birds and little animals. It became an oasis within an urban environment.
Impact
For 100 days, the city transformed into a magical moving forest, with residents witnessing the beauty and power of nature in their own backyard. This film explores the impact this unexpected oasis had on people’s lives and how collective effort can reinvigorate a city by taking steps towards a more sustainable world.
Floris Leeuwenberg
PHOTOGRAPHER & FILMMAKER
Amsterdam-based photographer and filmmaker Floris Leeuwenberg, winner of the World Press Photo Award, Silver Camera competition, and Two PANL Awards, has created over 150 stories worldwide, from Mongolian wrestlers to top Italian designers. For over 20 years, he was Co-Founder and Director of Photography of - The Cover Story - a feature agency providing international ready-to-publish stories for magazines representing over a hundred photographers and journalists worldwide.
He has made over 15 films, commercials and advertorials. His recent films include' The Walking Forest', 'Foli' (over 36 million YouTube views),' Falcon Hunting' for the Emir of Qatar, 'Bor the Documentary', aired on Dutch TV Networks, nominated by DOCS MX, and' High Cuisine' a culinary 4 part TV series aired on Dutch TV Networks. He's published in The New York Times, Marie Claire, Geo, Condé Nast Traveler, National Geographic, Rolling Stone, Elle and Wired and has created over twelve books on various subjects.
Rose Casella
WRITER & FILMMAKER
Filmmaker and writer Rose Casella was born in Canada and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Accademia di Belle Arti (Venice, Italy) and Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design (Vancouver, Canada). She has over 20 years of experience working in multi-media as a writer, story developer and filmmaker. The combination of skills gives her a unique ability to bring concepts to life. Her recent film works include - 'The Walking Forest', 'Human Playground' a Netflix Original Documentary series, 'Bor the Documentary'- aired on Dutch TV Networks and nominated by DOCS MX, and 'The Apricot Tree' - selected for numerous festivals such as Raindance, POFF shorts, Indie Flicks and Fastnet.
She recently wrote Human Playground, a book accompanying the Netflix series, wrote the English version of 'BOSK, wrote and developed many documentary film scripts and has been published in magazines such as Marie Claire, Elle, Condé Nast Traveler and more. Her goal is to continue to use her passion for storytelling to support and shine a light on global and social issues.
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