Q&A with Daniel Zimmermann

An intrepid display of formalist filmmaking, this Thoreau-referencing feature charts a fir tree’s journey from the Austrian countryside to the Brazilian rainforest. Comprised entirely of 360-degree sequence shots, Walden visually maps a course from forest to city to sea, methodically surveying each location along the way. As the tree is cut down, processed into lumber, and transported by train, truck, and cargo ship across the Atlantic, director Daniel Zimmermann highlights the relative value and consequence of globalized trade and man’s place within the larger ecosystem.

With kind support from the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York.