Our Forest: A journey through the soul of an industry

Sometimes the best stories are born from unexpected encounters. When Marcin and Jakub (Kuba) from the Wood-Mizer Poland team arrived in Romania in August 2024 to make a film about the wood industry, I didn't expect this experience to become much more than a simple film project.

"Our Forest" is the result of a week spent together with people who opened not only the doors of their factories, but also their souls. It is the story of a journey through Romania's most beautiful landscapes, a journey that united people from different countries around a common passion: wood.

From the first moment, we knew we were in for something special. Romania reveals its beauty gradually, like a book you open page by page. Marcin and Kuba, with their passion for perfect images, stopped us dozens of times along the way to capture a ray of sunlight passing through the leaves or the magical light of sunset. The mountains of Bukovina, with their centuries-old forests, completely won them over. These landscapes are not just a mere backdrop for this movie - they are the main protagonist, the beauty to be preserved for future generations.

In Moldovița, the evening spent on Liviu Țiplic's terrace remains memorable not only for the discussions about wood traceability or the future of the industry, but for the warmth with which we were welcomed. Under the starry skies of Bucovina, amid the laughter and stories shared, friendships were forged that transcend professional boundaries. Liviu showed us that Romanian hospitality is not a cliché, but a lived reality.

In Sadova, the Bota family welcomed us with a warmth that makes you immediately understand why these people have managed to build a successful business. Viorel Bota, with his characteristic modesty, told us about his dreams realized through hard work and determination. But beyond professional success, we discovered a close-knit family with genuine values, living in harmony with the nature around them.

Coșna offered us perhaps the most spectacular landscape of the whole trip. There, among the hills of the Dornelor depression, Dorin Văideanu showed us that passion for wood can take extraordinary artistic forms. The houses he builds are not simple dwellings - they are works of art celebrating the beauty of Romanian wood. His contagious energy has touched us all, and the enthusiasm with which he talks about his craft makes you understand why wood can become a vocation, not just a profession.

In Suceava county, at Lăcusta Prodcom, Ionică Ștefănoaia he told us about his beginnings in the industry with the same passion with which a grandfather tells his grandchildren about the old days. His stories from the first BIFE fair he attended in 2006 to today's business became the threads from which the narrative of the movie was woven.

Ciprian Muscă gave us the broad perspective, the overview of an industry that is transforming. His well-balanced words gave weight and credibility to the message we convey. With him we understood that the Romanian timber industry is not just about figures and statistics, but about responsibility and long-term vision.

But "Our Forest" is not just about places and people - it's about the magic that happens when people with the same passion meet. These days, the Poles from the Wood-Mizer team have discovered the real Romania, the one that doesn't appear in tourist guides. The Romanians opened their homes and their souls, showing that the wood industry is more than business - it's about community, tradition and respect for the nature that surrounds us.

At the Cornul Luncii, where Ionică Ștefănoaia presented his impressive collection of Wood-Mizer machines, we realized we were witnessing something special. It wasn't just a technical presentation - it was a long-standing bond between a Romanian entrepreneur and Wood-Mizer, built on mutual trust and respect. Marcin and Kuba captured these moments with an artistic sensibility that turns each frame into a testimony to the beauty of this collaboration.

The movie captures all these moments and at the same time the beauty of the landscapes. The age-old forests, the green hills, the picturesque valleys - all these are strong arguments for the need to preserve this natural wealth. Every frame in the movie shouts that this beauty must be preserved for those who come after us.

"Our Forest" talks about sustainability not through theoretical discourses, but through the concrete example of people who live this philosophy every day. It talks about modernization not through cold figures, but through the stories of those who have replaced hard work with high-performance technology. It speaks of responsibility not just through laws and regulations, but through the personal commitment of those who have dedicated their lives to this industry.

That week was about more than making a movie. It became about bonding friendships between people who, although they speak different languages and live in different countries, share the same love of wood and the same vision for the future of this industry. Together we traveled through Bucovina, Transrarrau, Bicaz, down to Sibiu, where we spent a wonderful weekend. Marcin and Kuba left Romania with full hearts and plans to return. The Romanians left with beautiful memories and new friends from abroad.

When you watch Our Forest, you don't just see a documentary movie about the timber industry. You see the beauty of Romania, you see the warmth of its people, you see the passion that connects people from different countries. You see a week in which friendships were born and in which it was shown, once again, that wood is not just an economic resource - it is a source of joy, a source of inspiration and a bridge between cultures and generations.

This is the real message of the movie "Our Forest": that behind every industry there are people, behind every landscape there is a story, and that the beauty of this world is worth preserving because it reflects the souls of those who truly love it.

A week after the visit to Romania, Marcin was to get married - a moment that added even more emotion to this shared experience. Since then, the friendships forged in those August 2024 days have continued to flourish. Recently, at Ligna Hanover in May 2025, meeting Kuba again, we reminisced nostalgically about our trip through Romania. The wedding photos he sent me of Marcin's wedding, our regular conversations and these unexpected encounters prove that the movie "Our Forest" has birthed much more than just a professional collaboration - it has created true and lasting friendships.

I'm proud to have contributed not only to the creation of this extraordinary film, but also to the way Romania has been presented to the world - with its authentic beauty, the warmth of its people and the passion that characterizes this industry. "Our Forest is ultimately a declaration of love to a country, an industry and the people who make it special.