Tree-Sits in Humboldt: Videos

Tree-Sit: The Art of Resistance (2000)

A feature documentary about the non-violent struggle to save the ancient redwood rainforest of Humboldt County, from the struggle to save Redwood Forest; the assassination attempt of Judi Bari; the pepper spraying of young activists; to the establishment of permanent “tree-villages” including Julia Butterfly hill who lived 2 years hundreds of feet up.

Running time: 95 minutes
Credit: Penelope Andrews
Release Year: 2000

Reviews & Awards
“Truly inspiring” – Howard Zinn
Best Forest Documentary Award – EarthVisions Film Festival 2001.

Headwaters Action Video (HAVC) formed in 1997 to provide video support and witnessing to Headwaters Forest demonstrations and to maintain an archive for use in media outreach. Northern California has the last remaining ancient redwood rainforests in existence and is the site of ongoing struggles to protect these trees. Clearcutting and herbicide spraying in these forests has impacted not just the trees, but also endangered species and the lives of the area’s human residents. The salmon industry has collapsed. A mudslide wiped out homes in Stafford. The once prolific Coho salmon and other forest creatures are verging on extinction. Headwaters Action videos influence public opinion and build mass support. They probe the corporate destruction of US rainforest. They show the power of nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience, as well as the infiltrations of the police state. Until the government and corporations begin to respect unspoiled nature as more than simply its market value, video and film documentation are essential for education and inspiration.

Struggle in the Woods (2003)

The struggle over Northern California’s remaining ancient forests is as dramatic as the trees themselves. While Houston-based Maxxam, Inc. converts forested hillsides into cash and clearcuts, erosion and flooding wreak havoc on downstream neighbors. In response, frontline forest activists occupy the branches of threatened old-growth trees. The extraction of the ancient redwoods, and the treesitters who defend them, raises alarms over the lengths a corporation will go to destroy the public trust.

Featuring the diverse views of residents who live downstream of Pacific Lumber clear-cuts, the activists who live in the high canopy and the extractors hired by the company to remove the tree-sitters.

Running time: 30 minutes
By Lame Ox Productions and HAVC
Release Year: 2003

The version available on YouTube contains Slovak titles. To view the original preserved in the archive, please contact us.