Musicwood The Documentary

The Musicwood coalition of Dave Berryman (Gibson Guitars), Nick Colesanti (Martin Guitars), Bob Taylor (Taylor Guitars) at the base of a Sitka Spruce tree in the Tongass Forest, Alaska. You get a real sense of just how enormous these old-growth trees are.

The world’s most famous guitar-makers are on a desperate mission: to stop Native American loggers from devastating a primeval forest, threatening their own culture and the future of the acoustic guitar.

Musicwood is about an unknown slice of American history, an unexpected and incredibly serious threat to the acoustic guitar, and a conflict that resists easy interpretations. It is a story where Native American tribes, Corporations, the US Government, and radical environmental organizations all clash in an epic battle over culture and natural resources. It is about the intersection of people, money and wood. It is a deep look into the so-called “war of the woods,” and an upending of our simplistic ways of looking at Native American landowners and Corporations. But most of all, Musicwood is an adventure-filled journey to the remote, primeval and majestic coastal rain forest of Southeast Alaska—and a conflict where it is often hard to tell the good guys from the bad.

Musicwood Trailer

This documentary delves into the cultural, spiritual and economic history of the Native American tribes who call Southeast Alaska their home. It begins with the startling revelation that these Native Americans, in negotiations with the government, formed a corporation that is devastating their own homeland—clear-cutting enormous tracts of land with little concern for its impact. What’s more, this devastated land is also part of the Tongass National Forest, the largest National Forest in the USA, and one of the most controversial forests on the face of the earth. Into this scenario comes an unusual band of world-renowned guitar-makers. The Presidents and CEO’s of the biggest and most famous guitar companies on the planet—Gibson, Martin and Taylor—on an impossible mission: to negotiate with the Native corporation and change the way this forest is logged before it’s too late for acoustic guitars. If they don’t, and the logging continues unabated, they will run out of acoustic-guitar quality Spruce in less than ten years. The acoustic guitar as we know it will be no more.

Sealaskas

Enter Greenpeace, the most radical environmental group in the world, with a daring plan. They want to save this forest at all costs, but are they willing to make deals with their traditional adversaries—American white male CEO’s and Native American loggers—to get what they want? The Musicwood Documentary follows this unique story from the beginning. We travel to Southeast Alaska with the guitar-makers for their meetings with Sealaska, and experience firsthand the intensity and hostility with which they are greeted. We spend time in the guitar-makersʼ workshops and factories, witnessing the beautiful tradition of craftsmanship, in which acoustic guitars are still brought to life.

Glorious Tongass National Forest

We explore the Tongass National Forest, an ancient forest with trees that can grow for centuries. These are the last of the giant primeval trees to be found in the US, in an incredibly remote and rare forest, only accessible by boats and helicopters. The beauty of this forest, one of the last wild places on earth, is brought to life with astonishing on-the-ground and aerial photography. Musicwood is currently playing in New York City at The Quad Cinema in the West Village from November 1 – 7, 2013. They are putting together some really special events, locking in some acoustic artists to play before screenings, and of course, they will have Q&A’s after the shows. It sounds like it’s going to be a great time. If you can’t make it, check out the brand new Musicwood DVD store and get yourself a DVD to watch in your very own home! Musicwood is going to be as big as an old-growth 600 year-old Spruce! Follow Musicwood at: website: musicwoodthefilm.com facebook: facebook.com/Musicwoodthefilm twitter: MUSICWOODDoc (use #musicwood) (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i[‘GoogleAnalyticsObject’]=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,’script’,’//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js’,’ga’); ga(‘create’, ‘UA-44083713-1’, ‘moviefiednyc.com’); ga(‘send’, ‘pageview’); Fandango.com.