High schoolers explore aftermath of Dadia forest fire in short doc

A group of high-school students in Soufli, northern Greece, have made a short documentary about last summer’s catastrophic fires in Dadia Forest, an important Natura-protected habit in the region of Evros, in northeastern Greece, examining its impact.

Taking to the countryside on their bicycles, the pupils interviewed farmers, beekeepers and loggers, giving them an outlet for their sadness, anger, anxieties and hope.

Speaking to state broadcaster ERT, Vangelis Fakoudis, the principal of Soufli High School, noted the students’ horror at the disaster, but also their sense of hope when they saw deer and vegetation beginning to emerge from the ashes.

“The Fire Cyclists” is the result of a five-day documentary filmmaking workshop run by director Nikos Anagnostopoulos at Soufli High School.