In the province of Mpumalanga, South Africa, there are more than 400,000 hectares of industrial monoculture timber plantations.

Alien trees, designed for export, displacing local people and causing ecological degradation.

The film follows the work of GeaSphere, an NGO combatting biodiversity loss and protecting this bioregion through community involvement, education and sustainable practices. But monocultures are not just a local problem: 80% of the world’s arable land is dominated by vast monocultures, one of the largest causes of global environmental changes. Weaving together key voices, landscapes, and archival materials, Silent Forests paints a dynamic picture of the knockdown effects of monocultures on ecosystems and communities in Mpumalanga and worldwide—and how the struggle to preserve biodiversity continues.