“Humans have lived in forests and used forests without destroying them. It’s only in the last couple of centuries that we forgot how.”
Fred Pearce, author, A Trillion Trees
Directed by filmmaker Petr Krejčí and produced by AHEC Europe, the new documentary Forested Future is a feature-length immersion into the Appalachian forest communities of the eastern US. Inspired by A Trillion Trees, a book by the English environmental journalist Fred Pearce, the film is a visually rich and wide- ranging exploration of how – in an age of climate crisis – our relationship with trees and forests might hold the key to a positive future.
“I have always believed that the heart of filmmaking lies in telling stories that matter, stories that can ignite change, inspire action, and awaken a collective sense of responsibility. I am convinced that Forested Future tells such a story.”
Petr Krejčí, director
As the world has become more and more urbanised, our sense of connection to nature has grown weaker. We have become detached from the land, and therefore from the materials we depend on to build and furnish our homes and towns. Forested Future is an attempt to reestablish that connection.
Following the lives and work of the people whose lives are woven into the story of America’s hardwood forests – foresters, farmers, artisans, ecologists, timber workers and more – Forested Future gently but compellingly, makes the case for a traditional model of land stewardship that is in tune with the cycles of nature, and the rhythm of the forest.
“As humans, we tend to have a short range of how we think about time. The forest, on the other hand, thinks in centuries.”
Nancy Baker, Forest land owner
By learning to see beyond the short term, thinking in ‘tree time’ rather than human lifespans, the film argues that we can embrace regenerative practice, meet our material needs, heal our broken bond with nature, and find our way towards solutions to some of the most urgent problems we face today.
“As humans we love wood and instinctively engage with it, having used it to build and decorate our environments over thousands of years. Although today's societal pressures leave many people feeling that we shouldn't cut down trees, not all forests are disappearing and this film dispels that myth. It tells an extraordinary story of reforestation and community engagement. We believe architects and designers will be able to make more informed decisions if they have a better understanding of this amazing resource. This film is a beautiful way to engage them”
David Venables, European director, AHEC
Having screened around Europe at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film
Festival in the Czech Republic and at Barcelona’s BARQ International Architecture
Film Festival, Forested Future premiered in the UK at the Institute of Contemporary Arts on 3 November 2025. As well as English, the film is also available in Czech, French, Italian, German, and Spanish editions.
Follow @ForestedFuture on Instagram and sign up to the mailing list to find out more about future screenings and the online premiere.
forestedfuture.film
For more information about Forested Future and AHEC, or to arrange interviews with the documentary team, please contact
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AHEC (American Hardwood Export Council)
For more than three decades, the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) has been the global face of the U.S. timber industry, championing the performance, sustainability and aesthetic potential of American hardwoods worldwide. As the leading international hardwood trade association for North America, AHEC operates a non-profit programme representing thousands of businesses engaged in the production and export of timber – ranging from small family-run sawmills to major flooring manufacturers. Established to unite this wide-ranging spectrum of companies with a single global voice, AHEC has successfully built an internationally recognised brand, marketing more than 20 commercially available hardwood species and increasing demand around the world.
americanhardwood.org
Petr Krejčí
Petr Krejčí is a documentary filmmaker dedicated to exploring the intricate relationship between humanity, technology and the natural world. A graduate of the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU), Petr is a constant and inquisitive observer, inspired by works of directors such as Errol Morris and Abbas Kiarostami. Petr's debut feature-length documentary Forested Future explores questions of sustainability and stewardship of hardwood forests in the eastern US, bringing together his long-standing interests in ecology and narrative.
petrand.co
Fred Pearce
Fred Pearce is a London-based freelance environmental journalist, reporting on global issues from more than 80 countries over more than 40 years. Former news editor and environment consultant at New Scientist magazine, and contributor to The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Washington Post, and many other newspapers and magazines, he currently writes regularly online for Yale environment360.
His many books include When the Rivers Run Dry, A Trillion Trees, The New Wild, The Landgrabbers, and Confessions of an Ecosinner. They have been translated into 27 languages. He has been voted UK Environment Journalist of the Year and won a lifetime achievement award from the Association of British Science Writers. Despite It All (the title of his next book), he remains an optimist. “We can have a Good Anthropocene,” he says.
