Director Victor Kossakovsky will world premiere Holy Wood Dust at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 6 in a Venice Open – Out of Competition slot. The film, made in collaboration with Italian botanist and author Stefano Mancuso, examines the life and consciousness of trees.
Kossakovsky has built a reputation for challenging perceptions of human and non-human life through documentary filmmaking. His 2020 film Gunda focused on a pig and her piglets, while Trillion, released last year, tracked an artist returning fish scales to the ocean in Norway, referencing the estimated number of fish taken from the world's oceans annually.
The director said in a statement that while art cannot halt conflicts or stop violence, "telling stories rooted in empathy can plant the seeds for a more peaceful future." Holy Wood Dust centers on a Christmas tree, filmed in a 2:1 aspect ratio, and includes a scene in which Mancuso discusses the importance and value of trees with a group of children.
Kossakovsky described the film's genesis in childhood memories of his mother comparing damage to plants to pain felt by humans. Later, while living in Berlin, he examined a dead leaf under a microscope and wondered what might be seen through magnification during the cutting of a living tree. "You can see that this tree is totally confused," he said of the finished film, adding that he observed the tree as "suffering, trying to heal and trying to fight."
The film draws production support from Be Water Film, Solaria Film, RAI Cinema, Oceannika, Allegra Films and Doppelplusultra Filmproduktion. Kossakovsky co-wrote the screenplay with Mancuso, with cinematography by Gianmarco Donaggio and editing by Ainara Vera.
