Sun 16 July | 11:30 | Pálás Screen 1

2023 | Germany | 102’ | Documentary

With footage collected by activist Steffen Meyn, over two years, Lonely Oaks tells the story of the occupation of Hambach Forest in Germany. For the past ten years, environmental activists have been occupying an ancient forest in western Germany which energy company RWE planned to clear. In 2018, the police attempted to take down over 50 tree houses. In the course of the evictions, film student Steffen Meyn fell from one of the tree houses and died. This film offers us some very personal insights and highlights the paradoxes and hardships of an activist’s life; political efficacy and self-sacrifice, police violence and militancy, idealism and painful reality.

Irish Premiere

Directors: Fabiana Fragale, Jens Mühlhoff, Kilian Kuhlendahl
Producer: Melanie Andernach