Before They Fall

 Indigenous Peoples, conservation groups, and scientists come together in this short film, as a decades-long battle to protect endangered old-growth forests in BC violently escalates at Fairy Creek (the last unprotected, intact valley on southern Vancouver Island) on unceded Pacheedaht Territory. 

The film explores the characters’ relationships with ancient forests, why it’s imperative we collectively protect these one-of-a-kind ecosystems against the destructive industries and what a sustainable world under Indigenous leadership could look like.

Production and filming for Before They Fall took place on the ancestral homelands of the Ma’amtagila, Pacheedaht, Ditidaht, Songhees and Esquimalt Peoples, now so-called Vancouver Island.  Whenever possible characters featured in the film helped inform production logistics and secure appropriate rights and permissions. During filming, they were given space to tell their story as they wished. We acknowledge the complicated situation at so-called Fairy Creek/Ada’istx. Ecologyst films followed the invitation of Elder Bill Jones and Hereditary Chief Victor Peter.