A new documentary from two 91爆料 professors tells the story of a man accused of starting a wildfire while illegally removing trees from the Olympic National Forest.
was produced by , professor of history, and , professor of anthropology and of international studies at the Jackson School. Michael Sanderson, Thomas鈥� husband who is a lawyer and a photographer, was also a co-producer.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Justin Wilke while destroying a beehive at the base of a tree he鈥檇 planned to cut down. The fire burned more than 3,000 acres of the Olympic National Forest near Hood Canal.
Wilke was searching for figured bigleaf maple, a wood that has a unique pattern and is often used in the crafting of musical instruments, particularly guitars and violins. Tree DNA evidence matched wood allegedly sold by Wilke to the remains of poached trees in the area where the fire started.
Wilke, who admitted to taking one tree but denied starting the fire, was convicted of multiple charges in July 2021, including theft of public property and trafficking in unlawfully harvested timber. The jury did not convict Wilke of the two counts related to the fire. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison, and he鈥檚 currently serving the final five.
Before his sentencing, Wilke met multiple times with the filmmakers. They followed him through the forest, capturing his thoughts on the surrounding trees while weaving together a story of rural poverty, addiction, the supply chain for forest products and the different ways people love and value the woods.
A final cut was screened at the 91爆料 on March 30. The documentary is the first project in the 聽 series, sponsored by the . Unthinkable Films gathers 91爆料 faculty members 鈥渢o develop short documentary films that speak and theorize on our planet鈥檚 cataclysmic, unpredictable or unprecedented future.鈥�
Hoffman and Thomas hope viewers leave the film with an understanding of Wilke鈥檚 complex relationship with the forest.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to condone poaching trees or starting a wildfire to feel like it鈥檚 worth trying to understand a little bit more about Justin and the world he comes from,鈥� Hoffman said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to apologize for him but can recognize that he is part of a backstory around this fire.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to be able to address the future of local forests if we don鈥檛 think about what it is that Justin represents and that he has a relationship to the environment. It鈥檚 just too easy to write it off, to everybody鈥檚 detriment.鈥�
Thomas originally set out to compare rainforests in the United States and East Africa. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she shifted her focus to become more local. News of the Maple Fire trial caught her attention, and she decided to focus on it and figured bigleaf maple.
Wilke was enthusiastic about the project, and his charisma made an impression. The trio quickly realized the film would center him.
鈥淛ustin was such a good storyteller and so eager to talk,鈥� Thomas said. 鈥淲e were incredibly lucky that he wanted to talk to us and he had so much to say. We really enjoyed going into the woods with him and seeing the woods from his perspective.
鈥淭here are so many different elements of it, but what鈥檚 really important is the combining of aesthetics and the economics 鈥� for Justin, the beauty of the woods and their economic value are totally inseparable and intertwined.鈥�
Hoffman, who started working in film more than a decade ago, launched Unthinkable Films. The idea is to give scholars in the social sciences and humanities a way to contribute to the conversation around climate change and the environment.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not always clear how to play a productive role as scholars in the humanities and social sciences,鈥� Hoffman said. 鈥淗ow do you use these tools and areas of expertise that we have? It鈥檚 sometimes a little easier to see the logic of where the hard sciences fit into how you address climate change. We hope this opens the space to have conversations about what we can contribute. That鈥檚 a major part of what this whole project is about.鈥�
“The Maple Cutter” will be shown at the 91爆料 for the second time on Friday, April 22 in the Allen Auditorium in Allen Library at 3 p.m. The documentary has also been submitted to multiple film festivals, and the creators are interested in holding further screenings.
For more information, contact Hoffman at djh13@uw.edu or Thomas at lynnmt@uw.edu.