TreeTalk
a documentary about tree communication
The Story
In the summer of 2022, Tanja Abbas is traveling together with filmmaker Delia Spatareanu by train, boat & car across Europe to interview different experts who have written on the subject of trees and forests. All of them have one thing in common. They listen each in their own way to trees and forests and give them a voice.
In the midst of crisis, the documentary is a message of hope, beauty and inter-species collaboration.
Voices Featured
Maja Kooistra (PhD Physical Geography) has 45 years of experience in physical geography, soil science, hydrology, vegetation science, agriculture and archaeology. In addition, she is a healer and reader and leads a small Druïd Coven focused on the Power of Trees. She has written several popular books and essays on the relation between people and nature and has given lectures, trainings and forest walks on this subject for more than 30 years.
Jiří Lahoda
Jiří Lahoda perceives nature through subtle senses since his childhood & is able to receive information from nature’s spiritual realm and to work with its energies. He has been studying the therapeutic effects of approx. 30 species of trees that directly influence the emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of human body and the psyche. Jiří works as a massage therapist, lectures on alternative medicine and holds courses on communication with trees.
Giorgio Vacchiano is a researcher & professor in forest management and planning at the State University of Milan. In 2018, he was listed by Nature Magazine as one of the 11 emerging scientists in the world. He researches how trees and forests respond to climate change and how to manage them sustainably. He uses computer simulation models to predict the development & functioning of forests in the context of global warming, forest management, forest fires & windstorms.
Glennie Kindred is an artist and a writer, with 12 books currently published, all of which include her artwork. Kindred’s books practically explore the wild edges of our relationship with the Earth through our native plants and trees, tree lore, herbalism, Earth wisdom, alchemy, celebrating the Earth's cycles and creating heartfelt ceremonies. She is also the editor and co-creator of the yearly publication, the Earth Pathways Diary.
Tanja Abbas has a background in public administration and worked as a crisis evaluation researcher and facilitator on community-based decision making. Since 2012, she works as an independent researcher, writer and storyteller on nature connection. She combines spirit and science in her work and gladly shares what she learns in this way. At the moment, she focuses on the voice and wisdom of the trees and forests for the generations to come.
Iulia Hurducas is an architect, an urbanist and a keen observer of nature. For the past 8 years, her research interests have taken her into the forests of Northern Romania. She has recently completed a PhD at the Sheffield School of Architecture (UK), titled "Urbanised Forested Landscapes. The Viseu Valley seen through the lens of care". Her thesis argues for a new paradigm of forest care when speaking of and tending to forested landscapes.
Mary Reynolds is a reformed internationally acclaimed landscape designer. She was the youngest contestant to win a gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2002. Bestselling author, inspirational speaker and founder of the global movement “We are the ARK” a practical approach to shifting the environmental game in nature’s favour, starting with our own patches of land.
Marko Pogačnik (UNESCO Artist for Peace 2016 -2022) is a prolific author, international consultant on issues of urban development and landscape design and a specialist in ‘lithopuncture’, which aims at healing disturbed landscapes and power points. He teaches at the School for Geomancy “Hagia Chora” in Germany and France, and runs courses on holistic ecology, geomancy and personal development in many countries worldwide.
Claire Elouard (PhD in Ecology) has 12 years of experience in scientific research in the fields of plant pathology & ecology in Indonesia, Malaysia and India. She also initiated and directed for 14 years an environmental and social project in Maharashtra. Deeply connected with nature since childhood, she developed her perception of nature’s energy and deepened it by learning about the Hindu philosophy on the 5 elements. For the past 18 years, she has been teaching in Europe and Asia, how to connect with nature and perceive its healing powers.
“Trees are the eternal source of life. This urgent and important message is effectively communicated through a new and inspiring film Tree Talk. In this film people with passion and love for trees speak about their experiences about the paramount importance of trees for human survival and for the wellbeing of our precious planet Gaia. Watch this film again and again with your friends and family and then become a Tree Activist.”
Satish Kumar
Founder of Schumacher College, UK
Editor Emeritus of Resurgence & Ecologist Magazine