Students from the Princeton Sunda Rainforest Project hosted a virtual premiere and panel discussion for their film, Across Thirty Hills, which explores the vanishing rainforests of Sumatra and the fight to protect critical habitat for endangered species by empowering local communities.

Princeton seniors Zoe Rennie, Arjun Krishnan and Luca Kuziel, along with Ph.D. candidate Arjun Potter, discussed with David Wilcove, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and public affairs and the High Meadows Environmental Institute, how they made their film, what inspired it, and how we all can help.

Princeton students gained exclusive access to the World Wildlife Fund’s Thirty Hills Restoration Concession in Indonesia where Indigenous peoples protect their homeland by cultivating a sustainable economy from traditional ways of life. Through extensive interviews and startling footage of Sumatra’s rampant deforestation, the film provides a compelling case for making conservation profitable for local communities.

The film was supported by the High Meadows Environmental Institute and the World Wildlife Fund. This event was organized by the High Meadows Environmental Institute with the Sunda Rainforest Project and the World Wildlife Fund.