"The most important story that was yet to be told."
A journey into a hidden world, and the communities that have shaped it.
In the ancient lands of Africa, vast stories unfold with threads that connect people, places and politics across communities and time. This is the understory — a world of mutual exchange, memory, and survival that has existed for millions of years.
Over four years, follow the directors, land stewards, and anthropologists as they fought to accurately document the true story of women in Africa. The Understory is their story — and a meditation on what we lose when we stop paying attention.
Filmed entirely on location. Shot on 16mm and 4K digital.
Full film · 94 minutes · Available to stream or purchase below
Breathtaking in scope and quietly devastating in impact.
Solstad has an eye for the sublime that few documentary filmmakers possess.
A film that earns its silences. Essential viewing.
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Maren is a Norwegian-American filmmaker based in Portland, OR. Her previous short, Root Depth, screened at over 40 festivals. She spent two years living adjacent to old-growth stands in the Cascades while shooting this film.
Thomas has produced seven independent documentaries over a fifteen-year career. A former field biologist, he brought deep scientific literacy to the production and composed the film's original score in collaboration with the subjects.
Celeste edited the film over eighteen months in Portland. She brings a background in narrative fiction editing, giving The Understory a structural tension rare in the genre. She is also a licensed herbalist.
David is a Nlaka'pamux knowledge keeper and writer from British Columbia. His involvement shaped the film's ethical approach to depicting Indigenous land relationships, and his narration forms the moral spine of the documentary.
"We didn't want to make a film about the well known crisis. We wanted to make a film about what goes unseen — and why that matters more than anything."— Maren Solstad, Director
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