Sacred Forest

Taiwan’s forest ecosystem extends from its ocean shores up into mountains reaching 4,000m above sea level. Taiwan is home to some 4,400 distinct endemic vascular plant species some of which found their way to the island as long as 2 million years ago in the early Pleistocene. A number of these species clearly meet United Nations’ World Natural Heritage standards in terms of their importance, exceptionality, and limited range.

Sacred Forest takes an eco philosophical approach to introduce the deeply unique nature of Taiwan’s cloud enveloped cypress forest ecosystems and to explore the nation’s oldest forests, tallest tree species, and priceless, multi millennial stands of giant ‘sacred trees’. Furthermore, this film reflects on the reciprocal relationship between humans and forest environments, and considers the future of the latter and its inevitable repercussions on the former.

Sacred Forest follows six separate groups, each with different interests and field specialties, as they experience the raw majesty of the forest from multiple facets ranging from the analytically intellectual and eco philosophical to the introspectively emotional and spiritually uplifting.