The Ancient Tree

A story of uprooted trees and displaced people finding ways to heal.

Having grown up with his woodsman grandfather, highway maintenance worker Chiang has an emotional attachment to the forest. He suffers a recurring childhood dream of being lost in the mountains, separated from his grandfather and eventually finding himself beneath an ancient tree. Chiang lives with Li, a woman whose lover disappeared in the forests years before. Chiang begins to notice a growing number of animal carcasses on the roads, also identified by researcher Jun, who is recording the effects of highway construction. Hearing this, Chiang’s grandfather offers a cryptic warning of a disappearing tree spirit and cautions them to be aware of his former colleague, Shun, who turned to illegal logging. Learning her estranged mother has died, Li returns to her indigenous roots in the forest. When Chiang and Jun grow close, Jun’s jealous colleague tries to frame Chiang. Fleeing to the forest and Li’s tribe, Chiang and Jun find the source of the forest’s sickness and confront the pending disaster.