project
Several Branches is a meditative short film about solitude, resilience, and the quiet poetry of nature. Through the silent presence of trees standing alone in vast, empty landscapes, the film explores the emotional weight of isolation and the silent strength found in stillness. With a minimalist approach and a deeply introspective tone, Several Branches invites the viewer to contemplate the invisible roots that connect us even in our most solitary moments.
At its core, Several Branches is a quiet protest. Beneath the stillness lies an aching truth about the cruelty of time, of loss, and of what we choose to destroy. The film reflects on the loneliness of trees once part of dense forests, now standing alone, like silent witnesses to the violence we inflict on nature and ourselves.
The Tree That Gave Too Much
Once a shelter to birds, insects, and passing winds, the old tree decided to become an eco-hotel decorated with hammocks, string lights, and human expectations. Visitors praised its beauty, unaware they were stripping away its silence. In choosing to serve, the tree was no longer free; its branches became selfie stations, its roots crushed by footfall. The transformation was applauded as “sustainable,” yet the tree had never asked to be used so kindly.
Hospitality as Surrender
They said the tree had found purpose as if its natural state had never been enough. So it opened itself up, welcomed guests, and bore the weight of commerce in its rings. What once stood for patience and quiet endurance now sold an experience of “authentic peace.” But peace cannot be booked by the night. In turning itself into a destination, the tree became a product, and in that transaction, something sacred was lost.
Several Branches is not a call to action it is a pause, a breath, a space to feel what has already been lost. In the stillness of burned forests and the quiet ache of solitary trees, the film asks: what does it mean to remain rooted in a world that keeps cutting? It leaves the viewer with no answers, only the rustling echo of what once was.