At the Stockfish Film Festival, we talked to Benedikt Erlingsson, the director of Of Horses and Men [+lee también:
crítica
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entrevista: Benedikt Erlingsson
ficha de la película] and Woman at War [+lee también:
crítica
tráiler
entrevista: Benedikt Erlingsson
entrevista: Benedikt Erlingsson
ficha de la película], about his sustainable forestry initiative Icelandic Film Forest, slowly coming to life in the national park of Heiðmörk, where new trees are being planted to reduce the industry’s carbon emissions.

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Cineuropa: We are all more interested in climate issues these days. But how did it start for you?
Benedikt Erlingsson: I had to educate myself when I made Woman at War. You are travelling the world, farting carbon, preaching the good message about environmentalism: it’s the kind of hypocrisy you just have to face up to. I don’t think I am going to make any more environmental films – I hope others will do that – but it just stuck with me.

If we want to continue this festival-going lifestyle of wining and dining, of uniting the world through our storytelling, we have to make some kind of effort. And we need to do everything because it’s not enough to plant a forest, even one the size of Australia. We need to look for new technology, decrease our consumption and maybe elect politicians who say: “Vote for me, and I will make sure you get less of everything” [laughs]. Greta Thunberg said that when we start to act, hope is everywhere. Even committing yourself to planting these trees is a beautiful way of acting.

It's certainly a way of putting words into action. There are many eco-themed panels at festivals, but I usually don’t end up in the actual forest, unlike this time.
We have to be creative this way. It started with the big party we threw here in Iceland called the European Film Awards. We knew there would be 800 people flying in, so how do we deal with that? I organised the first tree-planting session: we planted 4,000 trees, and then we just continued. Later, I heard from the organisers that many participants asked how they would decarbonise the event.

It also has to do with my own conscience: I want to make up for my trips. When Woman at War was nominated for an important award, we had to prepare gift bags for journalists – apparently, they wouldn’t bother seeing the film otherwise! We gave them trees. The film was about an “environmental warrior”, so this character pushed me to be more like her. I am just trying to meet her standards.

Will this initiative be connected to all cultural events in Reykjavik? Interestingly enough, it appears that many Icelanders don’t want to plant these trees, arguing they don’t belong here.
It says something about Icelanders, who are known for quarrelling about everything. Only 2% of our country is covered in forest. We know it used to be 40-60%. How can you be against changing that? How can it “threaten” our biodiversity? It’s a sensitive topic, and we have to think about what we are doing with these [imported] plants. But this argument is more connected to people’s impulse to deny climate change, I think. We need to fight against this “plant racism”. As a show business, as a film industry, we will take responsibility for Stockfish, for RIFF and other big events, as well as our own actions.

There was an opportunity to listen to the newly appointed head of the Icelandic Film Centre, Gisli Snaer, here at the festival. Are you counting on the centre’s support?
There should be support from the state when it comes to green initiatives and questions of sustainability, and I think it’s on the way. I am sure that once we finally get to talk, we will talk about this as well. It’s a local initiative. Our industry is not big, so every spring, I create these events, contact people and my friend Gústaf, and we plant. I know people are planning something similar in Bulgaria now; we did it at Barbados [Independent Film Festival], too. All of this feels a bit like the Wild West, and it’s easy to say that you will continue to fly everywhere and then plant some trees. But it will take them years to decarbonise what you are doing today. My next project will be sustainable – also because it’s mostly set in one place [laughs].

Sometimes, when talking to filmmakers, they underline that at the end of the day, they are directors first and foremost, not activists. Were you worried about trying to combine these two roles?
No, but I can understand it. Some artists feel they have to stay neutral to be loved by everyone and to get financial support. But the theatre and the cinema are places where we tell stories and share important values. Years ago, I was very active in the fight against whale hunting. It’s scandalous that it’s still going on and a clear example of local corruption. It’s damaging everything except for the tourism industry, because tourists see no problem in going to see whales in the morning and eating them in the afternoon. You could say I’ve always had this “weakness” for activism. That being said, being an ambassador for something is the first step towards becoming a politician, and that’s the end of all the fun.