''If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front'' is a 2011 American documentary film by filmmaker

Marshall Curry Marshall Curry (born ) is an Oscar-winning American documentary film, documentary director, producer, cinematographer and editor. His films include ''Street Fight (film), Street Fight'', ''Racing Dreams'', ''If a Tree Falls, If a Tree Falls: A ...

. It tells the story of activist

Daniel G. McGowan Daniel Gerard McGowan (born 1974) is an American environmental activist, formerly associated with the Earth Liberation Front. The U.S. government considers him a domestic terrorist, having been arrested and charged in federal court on multiple cou ...

of the

Earth Liberation Front The Earth Liberation Front (ELF), also known as "Elves" or "The Elves", is the collective name for autonomous individuals or covert cells who, according to the ELF Press Office, use "economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare to stop the exploitatio ...

(ELF), from his first

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

attacks in 1996 to his 2005 arrest by the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

. The film also examines the ethics of the ELF at large and how terrorism is to be defined. Premiering at the

2011 Sundance Film Festival The 27th annual Sundance Film Festival took place from January 20, 2011 until January 30, 2011 in Park City, Utah, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah, Ogden, Utah, and Sundance, Utah. The festival opened with five screenings, one from each c ...

, ''If a Tree Falls'' was rapidly acclaimed by critics as many considered it one of the best documentaries of 2011 for its thought-provoking portrayal of complex environmental and political issues. It won a number of awards and was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

Plot

Daniel McGowan first became involved with the ELF in 1996. The

launched Operation Backfire to find the arsonists. In 2006, McGowan was arrested. Signing a

plea agreement A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...

, he was sentenced to 7 years in prison.

Production

Director

knew Daniel McGowan through his wife's work. McGowan did not strike him as the terrorist type, so after his 2006 arrest, he was intrigued to find out what led him to his radical course of action.

Release

''If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front'' premiered at the

, where it won the award for Best Documentary Editing.

Oscilloscope Laboratories Oscilloscope Laboratories is an independent film company and distributor founded by Adam Yauch and former TH!NKFilm executive David Fenkel. It also has a recording studio and film production facilities. Fenkel returned to the company on May 4, 20 ...

would subsequently pick it up for theatrical distribution.

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

broadcast the film on September 13, 2011, as part of its '' POV'' series.

Reception

Kenneth Turan Kenneth Turan (; born October 27, 1946) is an American retired film critic, author, and lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. He was a film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1991 ...

of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' called it "one of the best documentaries of the year" and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said it was "an extraordinary documentary... fearless exploration of complexity in a world drawn to oversimplified depictions of events and problems, heroes and villains." The various organizations involved—including the spokesman for the Earth Liberation Front and the prosecutor who put members of the E.L.F. in prison—also responded favorably.

Awards

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, Best Documentary Feature (nominee) *Sundance Film Festival, Best Documentary Editing (winner) *Dallas Film Festival, Environmental Visions Award (winner) *

Miami International Film Festival The Miami Film Festival (formerly Miami International Film Festival) is an annual film festival in Miami, Florida, that showcases independent American and international films with a special focus on Ibero-American films. The competitive film fest ...

, Knight Dox Competition Grand Jury Prize (nominee) *Miami Film Festival, Knight Dox Competition Special Mention (winner) *Nashville Film Festival, Best Documentary (winner) *Traverse City Film Festival, Founders Award for Best Documentary (winner) *Santa Cruz Film Festival, Earthvision Environmental Jury Prize (winner) *Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival, Best Feature (winner) * Best Documentary Screenplay from the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Guil ...

(nominee)

References

External links

* * *
''If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front'' website on POV

Press Notes

Trailer on Vimeo

The entire film on Internet Archive
{{Marshall Curry 2011 films 2011 in the environment 2011 documentary films American documentary films Documentary films about American politics Documentary films about environmental issues Documentary films about forests and trees POV (TV series) films Eco-terrorism Earth Liberation Front Films directed by Marshall Curry 2010s English-language films 2010s American films