Falldown: A Conversation about Forests and Forestry in British Columbia

Film Screening followed by panel discussion

British Columbia’s forests are globally crucial because of their extraordinary biodiversity, rich carbon pools, mountain hydrology, and Indigenous cultures. This evening of stunning visuals, provocative voices and live discussion will provide the audience insight into BC’s forests and forestry. The province is at a crossroads – which path will be taken?

A stunning short film – Falldown – will open the evening – highlighting the paradox between the global image of Beautiful BC and the reality of forest management in BC today where ancient forests are still clearcut and First Nation voices are often unheard.

Dr. Suzanne Simard – author of Finding the Mother Tree and soon-to-be released When the Forest Breathes, will lead a live conversation with a panel discussing the opportunities and barriers to a fundamental shift in how forests and their multiple values are viewed, managed and maintained for the future. Panelists include Dr. Rachel Holt, independent ecologist; Erik Leslie, RPF and forestry consultant and the Forest Manager for the Harrop-Procter Community Co-operative; Casey Macaulay, former registrar and director of act compliance for Forest Professionals British Columbia (FPBC) and current general manager of Wells Gray Community Forest Corporation.

Falldown: (run time: 27 min.).
Producer/Director: Bill Heath
A call to action, emerging from the front lines of ecological and cultural survival.
“Falldown” British Columbia is home to some of the most biodiverse, carbon-rich forests on Earth. People travel here to be among living giants, cathedrals—forests older than the ancient cathedrals of Europe. For millennia, Indigenous Peoples have stewarded these sacred ecosystems, knowing intuitively that people are not separate from the natural world but woven into its very heartbeat. Yet, industrial clearcut logging has torn its way through these ancient forests for the last century, threatening ecology and cultural identity. Today a fight is on to decide the fate of the very last of these ancient forests, and the communities that forests support.
Through evocative visuals and soulful storytelling, the film follows a coalition of Indigenous leaders, scientists and loggers as they seek a new path—one rooted in reverence for traditional knowledge and informed by the insights of Western science. Their collective vision is one of hope—a future where ecological restoration and cultural renewal are inextricably linked, where healing the land becomes a pathway to healing ourselves.
Falldown reminds us of what the First Peoples have always known: that our futures are intertwined with the health of the land, and that true resilience lies in our unity with nature.
Visually stunning and deeply resonant, this cinematic testament implores us to reimagine our relationship with the natural world—before these ancient forests are silenced forever—calling us to remember, to restore, and to listen to the heartbeat of the land.