Spanning remote Siberian wilderness, a Mars simulation on a volcanic island, and the intimate everyday wonder of early childhood, the film weaves together three extraordinary lives:

Agafya Lykova, an elderly hermit surviving alone in the taiga, fending off bears with fragments of fallen space rockets; a group of volunteers cut off from Earth while rehearsing life on Mars; and a young child encountering the world for the first time through play, sound, and discovery.

Blending decades of personal footage with expansive global reflection, The Forest in Me unfolds as a cinematic letter to the future — lyrical, tactile, and emotionally resonant. Through fragments of image and sound, the film asks what it means to endure, to care, and to imagine life beyond isolation.

Poetic yet grounded, intimate yet cosmic, the film speaks to anyone drawn to memory cinema, eco-poetry, radical motherhood, and handcrafted nonfiction. It is a meditation on resilience and timeless human connection, told with tenderness and quiet power.

Featuring an original, evocative score by Xylouris White (Jim White of Dirty Three, Giorgos Xylouris) with contributions from Guy Picciotto (Fugazi) and additional vocals by Apollonia Xylouris, the film’s soundscape deepens its emotional and sensory pull.

The Forest in Me invites viewers into a rare, contemplative cinematic experience — one that lingers long after the screen goes dark.

A sister project to ‘Fever of the Light.’