MUSICWOOD
Price: $350.00 Code: 2452 |
Directed by Maxine Trump
2012, 80 minutes
Purchase: $350 | Classroom rental: $125
For hundreds of years, the acoustic guitar has been manufactured from the same high-quality Spruce tree. Today, due to a logging practice known as clear-cutting, this tree is on the brink of disappearing, taking with it, this historic musical instrument. In this captivating, beautifully shot documentary, owners of the top guitar makers unite with Greenpeace and travel to the largest forest in the US to meet with Native American landowners in the hope of finding a sustainable solution.
The film follows their journey, including Bob Taylor of Taylor guitars, Chris Martin of Martin Guitars and Dave Berryman of Gibson Guitars to Southeast Alaska, into a lush primeval rainforest, where they witness the controversial logging practices firsthand. But their expectations are upended when they discover the corporation responsible for the logging is Native American-owned.
Featuring beautiful performances from acoustic virtuosos such as Kaki King, Yo La Tengo, The Antlers, and Steve Earle, Musicwood thrusts us into the heart of a debate over natural resources and the environment, over indigenous rights and age-old land disputes, and the existence of an iconic musical instrument hangs in the balance.
* Official Selection, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
* Official Selection, Nashville Film Festival
* Official Selection, Environmental Film Festival at Yale
* Official Selection, Portland EcoFilm Festival
"Merging the sustainability worries of guitar enthusiasts and environmentalists with the hard-cash concerns of logging corporations and Native American land developers, Maxine Trump’s thoughtful documentary wrests clarity from complexity." — The New York Times
“An unflinching look at the complex politics behind the logging of the Tongass National Forest…. In addition to amazing footage of the Tongass, interviews with guitar makers, environmental groups, and leaders of the Tlingit and Haida tribes, the film includes great musical performances.” – Greenpeace
"Riveting... Musicwood celebrates the legacy of the acoustic guitar and chronicles the ongoing fight to save it." - EcoWatch
1/2. "Highly Recommended . An inspiring film about people -who you don't usually see eye to eye- looking for a common cause, and with virtuosos such as Kaki King, Yo La Tengo, the Antlers, and Steve Earle contributing to the sound track, the message here is particularly resonant." — Video Librarian
"Guitar lovers will enjoy seeing the fine instruments and appreciate the attempts to preserve traditional manufacturing methods." — Booklist
"This extremely well-done doc sheds important light on the situation, and the conflict between these concerned interests is very dramatic, with its high-stakes repercussions." — Film Journal
"Highly Recommended . Musicwood , admirably directed by Maxine Trump, is a beautifully made film that interweaves images of the majesty of the Sitka forest; the lovely strains of acoustic guitars played by virtuosos such as Steve Earle, Yo La Tengo, Kaki King, the Antlers, Turin Brakes, and Serguis Gregory; and glimpses of the cultural life of the Native Haida tribe." - Educational Media Reviews Online
"Musicwood does a good job of fairly representing a wide range of viewpoints. I was sometimes angry with one group, then another, but became less so as I better understood each group’s focus. The film conveys the complex issues of multiple groups and leaves the viewer with the sobering view that there are no easy answers." -National Science Teachers Association
2012, 80 minutes
Purchase: $350 | Classroom rental: $125
For hundreds of years, the acoustic guitar has been manufactured from the same high-quality Spruce tree. Today, due to a logging practice known as clear-cutting, this tree is on the brink of disappearing, taking with it, this historic musical instrument. In this captivating, beautifully shot documentary, owners of the top guitar makers unite with Greenpeace and travel to the largest forest in the US to meet with Native American landowners in the hope of finding a sustainable solution.
The film follows their journey, including Bob Taylor of Taylor guitars, Chris Martin of Martin Guitars and Dave Berryman of Gibson Guitars to Southeast Alaska, into a lush primeval rainforest, where they witness the controversial logging practices firsthand. But their expectations are upended when they discover the corporation responsible for the logging is Native American-owned.
Featuring beautiful performances from acoustic virtuosos such as Kaki King, Yo La Tengo, The Antlers, and Steve Earle, Musicwood thrusts us into the heart of a debate over natural resources and the environment, over indigenous rights and age-old land disputes, and the existence of an iconic musical instrument hangs in the balance.
Subjects & Collections
Festivals & Awards
* Official Selection, DOC NYC* Official Selection, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
* Official Selection, Nashville Film Festival
* Official Selection, Environmental Film Festival at Yale
* Official Selection, Portland EcoFilm Festival
Reviews
"Merging the sustainability worries of guitar enthusiasts and environmentalists with the hard-cash concerns of logging corporations and Native American land developers, Maxine Trump’s thoughtful documentary wrests clarity from complexity." — The New York Times
“An unflinching look at the complex politics behind the logging of the Tongass National Forest…. In addition to amazing footage of the Tongass, interviews with guitar makers, environmental groups, and leaders of the Tlingit and Haida tribes, the film includes great musical performances.” – Greenpeace
"Riveting... Musicwood celebrates the legacy of the acoustic guitar and chronicles the ongoing fight to save it." - EcoWatch
1/2. "Highly Recommended . An inspiring film about people -who you don't usually see eye to eye- looking for a common cause, and with virtuosos such as Kaki King, Yo La Tengo, the Antlers, and Steve Earle contributing to the sound track, the message here is particularly resonant." — Video Librarian
"Guitar lovers will enjoy seeing the fine instruments and appreciate the attempts to preserve traditional manufacturing methods." — Booklist
"This extremely well-done doc sheds important light on the situation, and the conflict between these concerned interests is very dramatic, with its high-stakes repercussions." — Film Journal
"Highly Recommended . Musicwood , admirably directed by Maxine Trump, is a beautifully made film that interweaves images of the majesty of the Sitka forest; the lovely strains of acoustic guitars played by virtuosos such as Steve Earle, Yo La Tengo, Kaki King, the Antlers, Turin Brakes, and Serguis Gregory; and glimpses of the cultural life of the Native Haida tribe." - Educational Media Reviews Online
"Musicwood does a good job of fairly representing a wide range of viewpoints. I was sometimes angry with one group, then another, but became less so as I better understood each group’s focus. The film conveys the complex issues of multiple groups and leaves the viewer with the sobering view that there are no easy answers." -National Science Teachers Association