I Bought a Rainforest

a different, amusing and vivid film about being an ordinary, unwitting person who dares to make a difference. It is a story about reflecting on the freedom of childhood and about using that inspiration to make a change.

Year

2010

Length

52 min

Directors

Jacob Andrén and Helena Nygren

Jacob Andrén, an ordinary young man, is thinking back upon his days in primary school. He is wondering about what happened to all the trees that he and his classmates bought, after having collected money at a flea market. They received a certificate of ownership, he recalls, but that was 20 years ago.

Did their effort really make a difference? Jacob decides to investigate the case, and he starts looking for the old certificate but it is hard to trace. While searching, he is told that another 400 000 Swedish kids have bought rainforest as well, and even more kids in other countries. But what defines a rain forest, really? And what threats are they facing today, compared to 20 years ago? And most importantly: Is the forest still there? And in that case: Where? These questions arise, and he wants to find the answers. Jacob manages to find his old teacher from primary school, who locates his forest in Costa Rica. She tells him that the forest was said to be protected forever, but she is only a teacher and cannot promise him that it is still there. This is when Jacob decides to go tracing his trees.

This film gives people knowledge of the rain forest and shows that one human can indeed make a change. This is a different, amusing and vivid film about the journey and its consequences, about being an ordinary, unwitting person who dares to make a difference. It is a story about reflecting on the freedom of childhood and about using that inspiration to make a change.

Credits

Directors
Helena Nygren
Jacob Andrén

Idea
Niklas Ottosson

Camera
Helena Nygren

Editing
Erik Bäfving
Johan Bjerkner

Music
Andreas Eklöf

Sound Design
Martin Hennel
Mikael Körner

Technical Supervisor
Emma Svensson

Colour Correction
Johan Eklund

Producers
Margarete Jangård
Fredrik Gertten

Co-Producer
Christian Beetz

Executive Producers
Vita Randazzo
Lisa Häfner
Kerstin Meyer-Beetz

Line Producer
Anahita Zafari
Kathrin Isberner

Commissioning Editors
Lars Säfström (SVT)
Martin Pieper (ZDF/ARTE)
Joakim Strand (Film i Skåne)

Sales & distribution

Trailer

„Just in diesem Moment überraschen uns die aus dem Theaterbereich stammenden jungen Regisseure Hans Block und Moritz Riesewieck mit einem erstaunlichen Dokumentarfilm, der seit Monaten Publikum und Kritik auf den wichtigsten Festivals der Welt elektrisiert. Völlig zu Recht: Es ist, als würden einem die Scheuklappen weggerissen, als sähe man das, was sich seit Jahren direkt vor unseren Augen abspielt, zum ersten Mal unverschleiert... eine fesselnde ,Doku noir' mit höchstem Anspruch...Dieser Film müsste an allen Schulen gezeigt werden.“

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

17.05.2018