STORY
The deeper you venture into a coast redwood forest, the more your imagination runs wild. The tallest and some of the oldest living beings on Earth, these trees are a gateway to experiencing an unparalleled sense of awe and connection.
Spending time among these silent giants can change the way we see ourselves and the world around us. Living links to the past, redwoods also hold superpowers that may play a key role in our future – including their ability to withstand fire and capture carbon, to offer clues about resilience and longevity, and to enhance our physical and emotional well-being. How do they do it? And more importantly, how can we ensure that redwoods will keep working their magic as they continue to be pushed to their limits?
Through the stories of those on the frontlines of efforts to understand and safeguard redwoods, GIANTS RISING reveals the mysterious inner-workings of these majestic trees – celebrating the wonders of America's most iconic forests and underscoring all that’s at stake.
Prized for the quality of their wood, some 95% of the primeval redwoods have been logged since the 1800s. The losses were dramatic, but so too have been the battles to protect these trees, then and now.
In this film we meet passionate people dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of the redwoods and protecting their future. This includes a scientific detective uncovering the secrets of redwood resilience, members of the Yurok Tribe fighting to restore their cultural connections to these forests, a park manager summoning new life from ravaged timberlands, and a modern-day Ansel Adams who's attempting to display a life-size photograph of a 310 foot redwood— a portrait she hopes will rekindle our connection to these ambassadors from another time.
Through the stories of these redwood devotees and others, we also delve into questions about why we evolved to experience such intense awe in the presence of redwoods, and how spending time in these forests also offers social benefits— like making us more compassionate, generous, and willing to cooperate with each other for the greater good. The goal of GIANTS RISING is not only to celebrate the marvels of redwoods and all they do for us, but to recognize what we can do for them to ensure they continue rising up for generations to come.
