The Cosmic Cine Film Festival is a festival for sustainability, creativity and awareness. The “open-mind” movies that are shown contribute to this positive message and the best movies get an award.

As a part of the Pangaea Project, I had the chance to talk about our association after the film “Il était une forêt” (the English title is “Once upon a forest”) at the festival in Darmstadt. After the movies, someone that is attached to the movie or the environment can talk to the audience, people can share their impression about the film.

But first I was captured by the fantastic images of “Il était une forêt”. It shows what happens after a tropical rainforest is cut down and the way to a primary forest, an original ecosystem that is not influenced by human (it takes 700 years to get back to this form). The movie let me see trees out of a different perspective and it raises awareness about the forest, not by showing many pictures of deforestation or destruction, but by showing fascinately how nature finds its way back.

Afterwards I explained the Pangaea Project, how we came together and what we do. It was quite short but people were interested and it was nice to answer more questions and talk to people directly in front of the cinema room.

When only a small group of people was left, a woman came to me and showed me a book about trees. With the words “It’s yours, I know it’s in good hands now” she handed it over to me.

Thankful for the book and the nice experience at the festival I am also happy that the movie “Il était une forêt” won both the first price of the jury awards and the first price of the audience voting.