SANTIAGO BESSAI

BIO

My interest in documentary-making is closely tied to my experience of the natural world. After university, I sought to explore funding travel through seasonal bushwork in the northern forests of Canada. There in the remote wilderness, I saw record droughts, heatwaves, and wildfires – the extremes of climate change laid bare. While I’d maintained an interest in cinema throughout my life, it was these experiences that turned my lens toward the environment and those most affected by its change. I then went to the UK to pursue a Master's in Ethnographic and Documentary film.

When the pandemic began overseas, I returned to Canada to film Planted in 2020 – a short doc that explores the landscape of deforestation in British Columbia through the eyes of a tree planter. The project is available by request on this site and VOD through F3M. Currently, I’m promoting a feature-length version titled The Pandemic Tree Planter and collaborating with other filmmakers in this field on exciting new doc and fiction projects. And beginning pre-production on a new web series about old-growth logging – a continuation of my ethnography of the timber industry throughout the Pacific North-West. Check out the Development page for more info about my latest work and to support our efforts.