Wood

From the Taiga in Siberia to the primary forests of Romania to the primeval forest in Peru: around the world, billions of dollars are made from illegal logging. First World consumers are happy about low prices at hardware and furniture stores, but would doubtless be shocked if they knew the origins of these goods.

Alexander von Bismarck, the Iron Chancellor’s great-great-great-nephew, has been on the timber mafia’s trail for years. As head of the Environmental Investigation Agency in Washington, he tirelessly takes to the road. He doesn’t shy from changing his persona and appearance and employing concealed technical means to bring illegal activities to light. He knows the swamp of crime can’t be drained while corrupt politicians and idle authorities remain indifferent to these illegal activities. So for Alexander von Bismarck, an essential part of his work, over and above his detective activities, is creating political and public awareness of the disastrous consequences of forest depletion – as the state of the planet’s “green lung” has long since assumed dramatic proportions.

This wake-up-call documentary follows von Bismarck and his comrades into the hell of profit-lust and back again.