Holy Wood Dust

synopsis

In collaboration with botanist Stefano Mancuso, Viktor Kossakovsky explores the lives of trees and the forces that threaten them. In close-up footage, the camera searches for traces of bark beetles before rising above the treetops, accompanied by classical music, and surveying forests devastated by a windstorm. Human interventions, however, are no less destructive. While Mancuso explains to children how trees perceive their surroundings and communicate with one another, the film follows a towering spruce from the mountains to St Peter’s Square, where it will serve as a Christmas decoration. The exploration of plant life’s diversity thus confronts the unquestioning ease with which humans subordinate it to their own needs.

“While art may be powerless to halt the conflicts unfolding around us and cannot stop the bullets of today, I believe that telling stories rooted in empathy can plant the seeds for a more peaceful future.” — Viktor Kossakovsky, The Hollywood Reporter

biography

Viktor Kossakovsky (1961) is a documentary filmmaker born in Leningrad. His visually striking films explore humanity’s relationship with the environment and other living beings. His best-known works include Aquarela (2018), Gunda (2020) and Architecton (2024), focusing respectively on water, farm animals and stone.

film details

director:	Viktor Kossakovsky
producer:	Mattia Guerra
script:	Stefano Mancuso, Viktor Kossakovsky
photography:	Gianmarco Donaggio
editing:	Ainara Vera
music:	Adrian Berenguer
sound:	Alexandr Dudarev