Characters

Every year, deliberately-lit fires rage through Southeast Asia. This documentary tells the story of three people from different worlds, whose lives intersect in the lead-up to another burning season.

Young Australian entrepreneur Dorjee Sun is a man on a mission - he wants to establish a cutting-edge carbon trading scheme which effectively re-values forests. If Dorjee has his way, standing rainforest will be worth more in its native state than cut down for its component resources. Problem is, his groundbreaking scheme has never been tried before on such a large scale. He has to convince governors, NGOs, activists and financiers that his plan is feasible and viable. Read more about Dorjee here.

Near Jambi, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, Achmadi the farmer grows oil palms and sells the fruit to factories nearby. The palm oil is used for cooking, and is an ingredient in cosmetics, soaps and shampoo. To support his wife and little daughter, Achmadi needs to plant more palms on his new plot of land. It's covered in thick jungle, and, in possession of just one chainsaw, the best way for Achmadi to clear the trees is to burn them down. Read more about Achmadi here.

In Borneo, Indonesia, Lone Droscher Nielsen cares for over 600 injured and orphaned orangutans. The species is on the brink of extinction, and there's no end in sight to the runaway habitat destruction: the forests are being slashed and burned for agribusiness, particularly palm oil. Lone's working around the clock - there are even sick, defenceless orangutan babies being cared for in her living room - and exhaustion is her constant companion. Read more about Lone here.

Last but by no means least are the forest dwellers. Of particular interest to the filmmakers are the orangutan. Orangutans are the lone species of Asian great ape; all the others come from Africa. The South East Asian islands of Borneo and Sumatra are the only habitats in the world where these gentle creatures exist. During production of the documentary, the crew also met two Indigenous communities: : the Orang Rimba and the Dayak people. On this site we also reflect on the fate of other creatures, including the Javan and Sumatran rhinoceroses, Asian elephant, Sumatran tiger, the clouded leopard and Asiatic golden cat, several species of monkeys, civets, squirrels, shrews, and otters, plus countless rats and bats. Read more about the forest dwellers here.